Land of Legendary Lore 



SKETCHES OF ROMANCE AND REALITY ON THE 
EASTERN SHORE OF THE CHESAPEAKE 



BY 



PRENTISS INGRAHAM 



ILLUSTRATED 



The Gazette Publishing House, 
Easton, Maryland. 

1898. 






* 7 * ?oi 



THE MOTIVE. 

The "Poet Priest of the South," the Reverend Father Ryan, has 
beautifully and pathetically expressed the sentiment that 

"A land without ruins 
/ Is a land without memories," 

and the words find a chord to vibrate in the heart of each one who 
holds a love for one's country, his birth-place and the soil that rests 
lightly upon the ashes of his dead. 

Go where one will, become what one may, remembrance wil turn 
longingly to the dead past, and 

"Be it ever so humble" 
the heart treasures the recollections of home and with tenderest feel- 
ings recalls the "days of Auld Lang Syne." 

In all this broad country of ours, its mountains, valleys and prairies, 
dotted with cities, villages and homes, there is no single spot more 
filled with memories of the earlier history of America than is the 
favored spot of which I write— this "Land of Legendary Lore." 

Settled afar back in American history, a century and a half before 
the United States sprung into existence as a nation, under the touch 
of the magic wand of Freedom, the country washed by the deep blue 
waters of the ever restless Chesapeake, the Eastern Shore of Mary- 
land, once the favored dwelling place of the Indians, whose graves 
and war implements alone remain to mark the passing away of an 
aboriginal people, was the Mecca of early settlers, the haven of 
mariners from the wide world over, as well as the ideal haunt of 
buccaneers, and from them all, in the passing panorama of life, have 
sprung the legends, romance and reality of this story told of old 
times in Maryland. 

From the ashes of the past has sprung up a Land of Promise, as 
it were, and Talbot, the Garden Spot of the Eastern Shore of Mary- 
land, today inhabited by a hospitable, progressive people, will never 
forget its past as long as there are graves, legends and fireside tales 
to keep memory alive. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS DU£. 

In preparing: a work of the kind now placed before the public, 
it has been my desire to make it as exact as possible, historically and 
biographically, yet I am fully aware that errors occur in its pages, 
and for all such I ask the generous consideration of the reader. 

Fully conscious of my inability to get at all the facts, having to 
rely upon hearsay and tradition, as well as the freely given aid of 
others, I hereby acknowledge assistance willingly given me by records 
furnished, letters and data from the published sketches of Dr. Saml. 
A. Harrison, extracts from Scharp's History of Maryland, Jenning's 
History of Friends, Talbot County Court Records, Books of the So- 
ciety of Friends, Century Magazine, LippincoWs Magazine, New 
York Sun, Baltimore Sun, Baltimore American, Washington (D. C.) 
Star, Easton Gazette, Easton Star- Democrat, Easton Ledger, and per- 
sonally from Col. Oswald Tilghman, Mr. Robert B. Dixon, Mr. Wilson 
M. Tylor, Mr. S. Elliott Shannahan, Miss Clara Earle, Mr. Samuel 
Patchett, of Easton, Prof. C. W. Chancellor, M. D., of Baltimore, 
Mr. T. H. Sewall, of St. Michaels, Mr. Howard Mullikin of Baltimore 
and to one and all of whom I express my grateful appreciation. 

Prentiss Ingkaham. 



11 Ah! what pleasant memories haunt me 
As I gaze upon the sea, 
All the old romantic legends, 
All my dreams come back to me. 11 



CHAPTER I. 



THE WHITE- WINGED CANOE. 




ITH faces turned toward the past, we 
look upon a scene two and a-half cen- 
turies ago, the beginning of the inci- 
dents that planted the corner stone of 
civilization in the midst of savagery, 
and the rising of the Star of Empire, 
which was to sbine upon a new world, 
lighting the retreat of one people to de- 
spair and death, and guiding another 
people to advancement and to power. 
Our eyes turned thus backward fall 
upon a terra incognita, a wholly unknown wilderness to ihose of 
our race ; but then the abiding place of a mighty tribe of red 
men, the Indian Nation of the Nanticokes,* whose villages and 
hunting grounds occupied the beautiful peninsula formed by the 
Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean ; today known as an 
Eden Land — for such it has become under the magic wand of the 
white man. 

Other landings of Europeans had been made years before up- 
on the coast of the now United States, on the Gulf and Atlantic 
shores of Florida, in Virginia, in Delaware and in New England, 
and an occasional ship had sailed up the Chesapeake, but the 
canoes alone of the Indian had broken the blue waters now known 
as the Choptank, Avon and Miles Rivers, that wash the white 
sands of this Land of Legendary Lore of which I write, a land of 
traditions indeed, of beauty and of promise. 

Upon the peninsula where the pretty town of Oxford now 
stands, looking backward through the mists of over two centu- 
ries, we picture there the village of a race in no way akin to us, 
save through the kinship of humanity. 

The lodges of these people dotted the woodland, women and 
children were gathered about the primitive homes, warriors, in 



[* The Nanticokes were a tribe of the Algonqulan ( Algonkin) Nation, and their tribal 
grounds were east of the Chesapeake. They are now extinct. 



10 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

all the glory of barbarous war paint and trappings, stood on the 
shore, or skimmed over the waters in their light canoes. 

It was a scene of wild life, the home of a savage people. 

Suddenly, around a point of land, now known as Benoni's 
Point, came a large canoe, urged on by a dozen paddles and fair- 
ly flying over the waters. Its prow was turned toward the In- 
dian village, and a white wall of foam parting on either side told 
with what speed the red crew were urging their frail craft. 

At once a cry of alarm rang through the village, for a foe 
must surely be in pursuit of the canoe to cause it to come on as 
it did. Men, women and children flocked to the shore to know 
the cause. What could it be? Was there to be an attack on 
the village by another tribe "? 

There had been strange stories told of a people, whose skins 
were white, having come across the mighty waters and settled 
upon the land to the south and far to the north, but those on the 
Avon had not seen these pale faces. They had not yet learned 
to dread them, to find out that man's inhumanity to man dwelt 
in the white heart as in the red . They had only to fear foes of 
their own race, and these they could meet, as they often had be- 
fore. They were yet to learn the bitter lesson that civilization 
advances into new lands with the Bible in one hand, and the 
sword in the other. 

They were upon the threshold of a mighty discovery, the be- 
ginning of the end of their race. 

Loud sounded the tom-toms in warning, for surely the large 
canoe must be pursued by many foes. Nearer and nearer it came 
and every eye was upon it, while the warriors of the village had 
armed for battle. Suddenly a cry arose, a wail as it were of 
alarm and horror commingled. A woman's lips had uttered it, 
and all eyes had turned upon her. 

There she stood, both arms outstretched before her, and her 
hands pointing to the wooded shore that shut out from the village 
the sight of the majestic Chesapeake. All beheld now why her 
cry, why her outstretched, pointing hands. 

Was it a low sweeping cloud, flying from behind the heavy 
woodland into view ? In speechless amazement all gazed, and 
the reason was before them, why the large canoe was urged on so 
desperately in flight. They saw not the canoe now, for their 
eyes were upon the flying cloud. On it swept, over the land it 



THE WHITE WINGED CANOE 11 

seemed, until suddenly it shot out from behind the sandy point 
and cries broke from all lips as there appeared a large dark mass 
like a giant canoe, beneath the clouds of white that rose far 
above it. 

Never before had such a sight been seen by those who stood 
awestruck gazing upon it. Full into view it came, flying along 
before a stiff ten knot breeze, holding its course as though to 
glide on up the Choptank, and sighs of relief fell from every lip 
to think that the strange, mystic thing of apparent life was not- 
coming toward their village. 

But afar off the sound of voices was heard, human forms 
were seen moving about, there were strange cries coming from 
the mysterious black and white cloud, and then the course was 
changed and it came rushing straight on toward the Indian vil- 
lage. There was no outcry now. All those untutored beings 
were too dazed for utterance. They could but stand and gaze 
in awed silence. 

The canoe that had been flying from this strange cloud was 
now close to the landing and from it arose a cry of alarm follow- 
ed by the words: 

''Behold the Winged Canoe!" 

Yes, it was a "winged canoe '' of the pale faces, for the first 
time entering those unknown waters. 

It was a beautiful brig, spreading canvas from deck to truck, 
speeding along into the waters of the Avon, and come upon a mis- 
sion good or bad. 

Was her coming to bring light to a people struggling in the 
darkness of barbarism, or were despair and death to follow in 
her wake f A short half hour told the story, for the sails were 
taken in one by one as the brig came on, and sweeping up into 
the wind when near the shore, a heavy plunge was heard as the 
anchor was let fall and the "winged canoe," stripped of her 
white wings, lay motionless upon the waters. 

Then from her black sides burst flashes of red lightning, the 
roar of thunder such as the poor Indians had heard from the 
black storm clouds when the Great Spirit was angry, and through 
their village tore a hail of iron dealing death and destruction. 
The roar of the guns was the death -knell of the Nanticokes! 

Such was the coming of the first vessel and its pale face crew 
into this beautiful Land of Legends. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE PASSING OF THE INDIAN. 




F it is really true, for we have only tradition 
for it, that the Norsemen, those rugged sea 
kings of centuries past, ever visited the shores 
of North America eight hundred years ago, 
nothing tangible, nothing of good for the ad- 
^ vanee of progress, ever came of it; and 
\^.- though the great captain of captains, Co- 
lumbus, never actually set foot upon the 
mainland of our country, his voyage and 
discovery of the islands of the West 
Indies was the opening wedge that 
£^ir began American history. 
Amerigo Vespucci, by his latter discoveries, and ignoring 
Columbus, managed to give his name to this grand continent; and 
Cabot and other adventurers, rather than explorers, followed and 
thus begun the peopling of our shores with Europeans — their 
motive being solely to find gold. 

What the treatment of those adventurers and their cruel fol- 
lowers was to the natives of the New World, those who came af- 
ter deemed it the right course to pursue, and the Indians' exter- 
mination even then begun, has been religiously adhered to down 
to the present day, when they remain but a mere handful of the 
once mighty race that roamed from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
from the frozen north to the shores of the Mexican Gulf. 

The ''Passing of the Indian" forms a unique but bitter story 
told in the settlement of our country, for, from the first, they 
seemed marked for doom. 

A few more years and the passing of the red man of North 
America will have been completed ; the prairies, mountains and 
valleys where he buried the ashes of his dead will know him no 
more ; only the ruins of that race of Americans alone remaining, 
for the last remnant will have gone truly beyond the Land of the 
Setting Sun. It will be the irony of fate, indeed, that the real 



THE PASSING OF THE INDIAN 13 

American will have passed away forever, while the descendant 
of races of other lands far across the sea will occupy his country. 

So went from the shores of the Chesapeake the mighty tribe 
of the -Nanticokes whose villages, hunting grounds and giaves of 
their fathers were here in our very midst. 

Traces of these people who have gone, in their rude imple- 
ments of war and home utensils, are yet to be found, while hardly 
a white man of today whose age is fourscore years and ten can 
point out a single Indian grave. 

What a sad commentary this upon the so-called Christian land 
of America, that even the graves of a mighty people are unmark- 
ed and unknown! 

Homes have been built, churches erected ; school-houses dot 
the land; villages and towns where walk the busy throngs are 
everywhere, perhaps, and beyond doubt, occupying the very sites 
of Indian burying-grounds, and still no one of us can point bo the 
last resting place of a Nanticoke, a Delaware or those who lived, 
loved and went to rest on the snores of the Chesapeake only a 
century ago. 

As the white invaders swept up the Chesapeake Bay in their 
mighty "winged canoe," dropped anchor in the depths of the 
Choptank and turned their iron guns upon the peaceful hamlet 
where the thriving town of Oxford now stands, so has the mailed 
hand of the conqueror since fallen, in his greed for a new world 
and the yellow metal for which men risk life to gain possession. 

Coming in a vessel of war, if a lawless one, against a people 
who had no flag to protect them, the armed invaders beat back 
from their onward path those whose superstitious fears and teach- 
ings led them to look upon the white men as warriors from an- 
other world, or as braves sent by the Great Spirit to drive them in- 
to the Happy Hunting Grounds. 

Was it a wonder that these untutored savages looked upon the 
palefaces as foes to the death, and, after their first superstitious 
dread was over, finding them fiesh and blood, sought to protect 
their homes and their kindred ? 

Was it a wonder that, beaten back into the forests, they 
sought new homes 1 Still hounded by their white enemies, 
they could not believe in the claimed friendly intention of those 
who came with a sword in one hand, a torch in the other, to kill 
and to burn, 



14 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

They were born warriors ; but they could not successfully re- 
sist the iron heel and mailed hand of oppression with only their 
crude weapons of warfare. 

And so, back from the shores of the majestic Choptank, the 
beautiful Avon and picturesque Wye now a garden spot of love- 
liness, passed the red race before the march of the white; it being 
the same old story here in our midst, as it was else where, that 
the Star of Empire, though rising from a red and deadly hori- 
zon, must guide onward and upward in the advance of civiliza- 
tion. 

With the passing away of a mighty race from this favored land 
there came hither to find new homes and associations those 
whom we call our ancestors, and the tales told of early days in 
Talbot cannot but be of interest to many of her citizens here, as 
well as to those who have gone far away who cling to this coun- 
try as their Fatherland. 




CHAPTER III. 

RETROSPECTIVE MUSINGS. 

WO centuries and a-half ago there was 
civilization in Talbot and its envi- 
rons only in embryo. Towns and vil- 
lages were not dreamed of ; those who 
came here then were intent upon 
finding gold in this New World, for 
the yellow metal was then as now an 
idol and had its abject worshippers. 
When the newcomers did not find this 
"*~ '^~ country of the Chesapeake a gold field, 

but instead, a land of milk and honey, of fair promise for getting 
riches, many of them were content to settle here and begin the 
good work of rescuing from the Indians, as well as building out 
of a wilderness, the beautiful surroundings we now call home 
and of which we are so proud. 

The natural cruelties of the Indian, and to which they were 
trained from infancy, were more than matched by the barbarian- 
ism of the English settlers who, in their early days, knew only 
war, prosecuted along any lines to end in favor of the English- 
man. 

Going back to the seventeenth century, it is very true that 
along our coastlands the Indian had his innings most of the time, 
after he had learned the ways of the settlers, but there was 
more or less drifting this way of other comers to the New World 
who thus gained a firm footing, which no human red tidal wave 
could wash loose to be swept back across the Atlantic. 

In this generation of the practical, even in poetry and fiction, 
what does it matter to our generation who was at fault, the un- 
tutored redskins or the gold-seeking palefaces? 

Might is right in many empiric creeds and the red blot, on the 
page of history in the settlement of America, time can never blot 
out ; but the fact remains that the white man is here to stay, the 
red man has crossed the Great Divide and conscience has long 
since been buried in the grave of forgetfulness. 



16 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

But though the red sovereigns of the soil have gone, we are 
reminded that he was a stern reality when we come across the 
relics of his war implements, turned up by the peaceful plough in 
many a field, or listen to the tales of the fireside of those days of 
the long ago. 

It has been truthfully said that one does not wish to trace his 
ancestry too far back, as he will surely find them barbarians, 
buccaneers or perhaps worse. 

It does not, therefore, become us to turn the sunlight into the 
dark recesses of the past, whether our ancestors came hither by 
the grace of God and the King's command, or left the old coun- 
try for its good, else we might be horrified to know just what 
deeds were then done with the sword, or under the protection 
of the Cross, to lay the foundation for future progress. 

Not that our ancestors cared a rap for the future of genera- 
tions yet unborn, for they didn't; the almighty present and fight 
for self and spoils being the governing incentive, with gold their 
beacon. That the pure deviltry, as developed in the red man, 
was finally overcome by the wanton cruelty and inate wickedness 
of the white man stands to our advantage today. Hence those 
early days ended with our race in the ascendency. 

Those in authority then did not stop to consider that Poor Lo 
had a grievance; that, if any inheritance comes by "Divine 
Right," he inherited these streams and forests and hills and 
vales to dwell in, fish, hunt enjoy life as best he could in his 
crude way until the Gitche Manito called him hence. 

They simply wanted the land and sea, the brooks and fertile 
meadowlands, and took them. 

If they traded with the Indian the latter came out at the small 
end of the horn. 

If they taught the Indian the white man's ways those ways 
were crooked and evil. 

Not going too closely into history it will yet be well to trace 
Talbot back to its early settlers, and who established here many 
landmarks that time has almost entirely obliterated — yes, even 
from the memory of the "oldest inhabitant." 

Of course Talbot is, or rather was, English in its inception. 
Then there were, too, as the names of today show, Irish, Scotch, 
and a few French, while, with its shores open to the world, there 
drifted hither a number of Hollanders ; and all, as has been prov- 



RETROSPECTIVE MUSINGS 17 

en, when they became Americanized by renewed generations, 
made a race that has mastered the world in all that goes to add 
to enlightenment. 

So much for the early settlers of Talbot and their descendants, 
many of whom now can look back over half a score of genera- 
tions and point with pride to their ''family tree." 

To those whose ancestry may cause them to suffer qualms of 
conscience instead of to swell with pride from traditionary lore, 
by discovering deeds in the misty past, or a few closet skele- 
tons and other things not conducive to fond recollections, let 
them hud consolation in the lines of Moore, slightly transposed : 

"When cold in the earth lie the friends thou hast loved 
Be their faults and their follies forgot by thee then. 1 ' 




CHAPTER IV. 

THE ROMANCE OF REALITY. 

OW many localities in our broad land, 
where high cliffs and picturesque scenery 
lend color to the legend, boast of possess- 
ing a "Lover's Leap ?" All have about 
the same old romance of an Indian girl and 
he*- lover, driven, from some mischance, 
to go separate ways thus severing heart- 
.'■ '.;":-•' ■'-...' strings, and despair driving the dusky 
a>^£k"""-- maiden to end her unhappiness by taking 

*3$4* tbe fatal leap from some lofty cliff desig- 

nated by nature for just such a contretemps. Sometime the 
legends have it that both lovers took the leap together, and this 
makes the story doubly interesting and pathetic. 

ISTow Talbot has no "Lover's Leap" within its borders, and is 
thus, in this respect, behind the other localities that have; but 
Talbot has no spot to so designate, Nature not having built this 
particular country in that way, as it lacks high cliffs for de- 
spairing red skins, or even paleface lovers, to throw themselves 
off of as a means of getting rapid transit to the Happy Hunting 
Grounds. 

Yet let it not be for a moment believed that because lacking 
in Lover's Leaps, Talbot has not Indian legends equally as sad, 
if not thrillingly dramatic. One legend runs of how a band of 
brave Algonquins, driven by their foes to the point of laud now 
known as Bachelor's Point, where stands the home of Dr. Couu- 
cell, and where their wives and kindred awaited them in their vil- 
lage, calmly determined to die before the faces of the victors. 

Quickly they weighted themselves, their wives and children 
down with heavy war implements, and chanting their weird 
death song, waded boldly out into the Choptank that stretched 
its blue waters away for miles before them. Deeper and deeper 
they went into the waters that were to be their grave, while 
their foes, crowded upon the shore amid the deserted tepees, 



THE ROMANCE OF REALITY 19 

witnessed their splendid courage as they disappeared beneath 
the waves while the echo of their song of death still floated in 
the air. 

Another point of interest in Talbot is what is known as "Ever- 
green," the home of Mr. McKenny Willis on Island Creek, for 
there it is said the first white child was born in a settlei's cabin. 
The first grave dug for a white woman in Talbot county was on 
the little island at Oxford, and there are old people still living 
who remember hearing their grandparents tell of the little bury- 
ing ground a woman's form first consecrated, and which in time 
grew apace until another site was chosen as the last resting 
place of the dead. 

It was in those first days in Talbot that a young Englishman 
landed here, having come over before the mast in a vessel that 
was driven into the Chesapeake and found a haven of refuge in 
the mouth of the beautiful Avon River, as now known. A man 
whose lot in life had been cast above that of his fellows, but 
who seemed to carry a shadow in his heart, and separating from 
his shipmates he cast his fortunes among the Indians. 

How long he dwelt with them is not told, but he quickly learn- 
ed to speak their language and taught them much of the white 
man's mode of life until the great Chief was glad to honor him 
in many ways. It has been said that the influence of this young 
man made peace between the ISanticokes and the white invaders; 
giving the latter a stronger foothold upon the Maryland Penin- 
sula. Be that as it may, the mysterious stranger was made a 
chief among the Indians, and the beautiful daughter of the red- 
skin king was offered to him as a wife, for the maiden had learned 
to dearly love the handsome paleface brave from beyond the big 
waters. 

Realizing this fact, and a man of honor, the stranger told the 
pretty Indian girl how he already loved a fair maiden ofhisown 
race in England, but she was the daughter of a great and rich 
man, while he was poor and unknown. It was because she had 
promised to be true to him that he had come to the new world to 
seek a fortune in the yellow gold he had heard was to be found 
here ; but alas ! he had found nothing and dare not return a poor 
man to claim the hand of her he loved. Lalaree, the Indian girl, 
listened to his story, and gazed with a\*e upon the gold-mounted 
miniature of her fair rival. 



20 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




THE ROMANCE OP REALITY 21 

Then she seemed to realize that the man she loved was not of 
her people, and her heart was prompted to a noble deed instead 
of mad jealousy, and she told how there was an Indian tradition 
handed down for generations, that a large winged canoe had, one 
terrible night of storm, been driven upon the shore of the big wa- 
ters, three sleeps* from where they then were, and all the white 
braves had perished, for their bones rested in the wreck. The 
eyes of the young man glistened with hope at this story, and he 
asked the Indian maiden for all the information she could give 
him, and was surprised to hear her reply : 

"Lalaree will guide the paleface chief to the wrecked winged 
cauoe, and there he will find that she has not spoken with a 
crooked tongue, for there is the yellow metal to make him rich, 
so that he can return beyond the big water and marry the beauti- 
ful white maiden he loves." 

True to her word, the good Lalaree guided the young English- 
man to the eastward by a well- beaten Indian trail leading to the 
ocean, and after several days came to the point where now stands 
the summer resort of Ocean City. There, driven upon the shore, 
by some mighty tidal wave, it would seem, was the wreck of a 
vessel, which the young man's sailor eye told him at a glance 
was of Spanish build. And there, in decaying cabin and fore- 
castle, were found the skeleton forms of a score of seamen, their 
bones bleached white by the waters. And more, in the cabin 
were chests of Spanish gold and silver, with precious stones and 
massive plate and other valuables half covered with sand. 

"There is indeed a fortune here, and this ship was surely a 
Spanish pirate," cried the young Englishman, and, with those 
who had accompanied Lalaree and himself, he gathered up the 
treasure, packed all in the iron-bound chests and hid them in the 
sand beyond the reach of the waters, f 

It was just two months after that a homeward bound English 
brig anchored off the Sinepuxent shore, and two boats landed 
through the surf their crews, led by the Englishman, to get the 
buried treasure. 

Homeward, with his fortune went the young Englishman and 



*Indians count journeys by nignts tliat pass, calling a journey of days so many 
"sleeps. " 

t Until a lew years ago there were still signs o£ the treasure wreck to be seen at Ocean, 
City. 



£2 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

matching the riches of the father of the maiden he loved, he 
claimed and was given her hand. 

Lured by the beauties, adventure and possibilities of the Ches- 
apeake country, at his own expense he fitted out a ship and with 
a number of good people, set sail for the new world once more, 
and where he and his bride were to make their home. In the 
waters of the Avon Eiver the vessel dropped anchor and on the 
picturesque shores of that stream was erected their comfortable 
home and where dwell their descendants today, for their name 
is woven deep into Maryland history past and present. 

But the Indian maiden who sacrificed her love for another, 
what of her ? With her love she gave up her life, for with the 
going of her lover across the sea to claim another for his bride, 
she faded away as an unnourished flower, and when the English 
vessel dropped anchor in the Avon the wild myrtle was growing 

upon her grave. 

For a long time her grave was marked by a stone that bore 
the simple name : 

"La-la-eee." 

But Time, the merciless iconoclast, crumbled it away and no 
trace remains of where rest the ashes of the Indian girl, though 
the story goes that she was buried on the point of land formed 
by Trippe's Creek and the Avon, and now the home of Mr. J. 
L. Banning. 





^ for 



CHAPTER V. 

GLEANINGS FROM EARLY HISTORY . 

NCE the loveliness of the landscape, the 
climatic advantages of this part of the conn- 
try, with its marine advantages, wealth of 
woodland, richness of soil, and munificence 
@^fCp of natural food in its waters and its game 
^p^S-- were known, it became an attractive region 
people of the better classes, with ordinary 
means in which to seek a home. Attrac- 
=-_ tive indeed must be the scene that will allure a 
■$S^3b^^ man fr° m nis Fatherland. With the authority of 
"^King James I. of England, issuing patents to colonize all 
the coast from Cape Fear River in North Carolina to Passama 
qnocldy Bay in Maine, and thence across to the Pacific, this nar- 
rative of our Eastern Shore country has nothing to do, for it is 
the work of the historian who details events in a groove of dates. 
It was through a severe storm on the Atlantic that three ships 
under Wingfield and Smith — the latter better known as ' 'Poca- 
hontas Smith"— intending to land further south, were driven 
into the Chesapeake, and the country at once attracted them, 
thus causing the first settlement on the James Eiver, and where 
the landmarks of those early days still remain. This was a hun- 
dred and ten years after the discovery of America by the early 
Cabot and over forty years after the founding of St. Augustine, 
Florida by the Spaniards. 

After founding the Jamestown settlement Captain John Smith 
returned to England and came out with other vessel loads of 
people, while he surveyed the coast from the Penobscot down- 
ward, to discover if he had selected the best locality for his colony. 
This survey convinced him that the storm had accidentally driven 
him to the most delightful of all places, for the Chesapeake and 
its tributaries, the James, Rappahannock, Potomac, Patapsco, 
Choptank, Wye and Avon added to the climate and grandeur of 
scenery rendered it all that heart could desire and eye delight in. 
Thus it was that early in the seventeenth century the Chesa- 



24 LA^TD OF LEGENDARY LORE 

peake Bay and its environs became the Mecca of the adventu- 
rous pioneers of the Old World. 

Lord Baltimore's first colonization was in New Foundland, 
but the climate and barren country made the venture a failure, 
and he then turned the prows of his ships to the sunny land of 
the Chesapeake. From the King he received a domain that 
gave to him all of the Maryland and Delaware of today, with 
parts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Here was established 
an asylum for Catholics, and the name of Maryland was bestow- 
ed on the new province. 

Lord Calvert had founded meanwhile a colony, the St. Mary's, 
in 1633. Thus it was that this favored land adjacent 'to the 
Chesapeake begun to grow in white population and prosperity, 
until Oxford, in Talbot, recognized as a splendid harbor and sur- 
rounded by navigable waters and fertile lands, formed the nu- 
cleus of what has been builded into the garden spot it is today; 
in fact, a number of citizens of the ancient regime still strongly 
maintain that here was the original site of the Garden of Eden. 

That nothing is said of the Choptank and Avon in the Bible 
does not disturb their equanimity in the least, they simply know 
that no other place can be so beautiful as Talbot, and I know 
several who know just where that fateful apple tree of Eden 
stood, though I dare not point out the locality — the farm is not 
for sale. 

Bringing their different creeds, orthodox or otherwise, over 
with them along with their goods and chattels, there was of 
course more or lesss friction engendered among these new-com- 
ers to America; for man is not content to serve God in his own 
way without discussing the gigantic mote that is in the eye of 
his neighbor who selects a different method; and though "Peace 
and Goodness" and "Do unto others as you would have others 
do unto you" are diamond -studded golden rules with silver lin- 
ing they appear to suit well enough for "others" but not for 
ourselves, as witness the Eeligious wars of the world, the carry- 
ing of the cross in one hand the sword in the other. 

Envy, hatred and malice therefore found a footing here with 
the coming of the paleface settlers; and jealousy, rivalry and 
bickerings — from the settlements of the Pilgrims and Puritans 
on the cold New England shores to those of the Hollanders of 
New York, the Protestants and Catholics of Virginia and Mary- 



GLEANINGS PROM EARLY HISTORY 25 

land, Huguenots of the Carolinas and Spaniards and French of 
the Gulf shores — were the regular routine, man's inhumanity to 
man, looming up in striking contrast to Christ's teachings. 

In the midst of these troubulous times in settling the New 
World with the people of varied lands of the Old World, there 
came hither one whose name is indelibly linked with all that is 
good in those old times. He followed those of his race and sim- 
ple creed, who had already founded several nourishing settlements 
in New Jersey and was thus encouraged to establish another on 
the banks of the broad and majestic Delaware. 

A free state, builded upon the principles of universal brother- 
hood was the noble aim of this man, whose people had long 
been persecuted, buffeted about and shamefully abused, while 
imprisonment and exile had been their lot. With his hopes for 
the future not quenched by proscription and cruel treatment, 
William Penn^ philanthropic and lofty purpose was to establish 
for his people, the Friends* an asylum of refuge and rest. 

From King Charles, Penn received a charter that made him 
proprietor of the vast domain bounded in the east by the Dela- 
ware and running northward and southward over three degrees 
of latitude while it extended westward through five degrees of 
longitude. This domain received in part his name — Pennsylvania, 
and there he established a grand commonwealth without respect 
to religion, race or color, and though the red man was then 
very much in evidence in the village of brotherly love, as it was 
at that time, the black man is even more in evidence there today. 

Brotherly love, justice and the right hand of hospitality were 
the weapons used by Penn against all people, and there was a 
hearty response to his desire to build up a great nation in this 
land of promise. 

Penn's father, Sir William, having been a Vice Admiral in 
the British Navy, gave his son a fine education, though he was 
expelled from Oxford on account of his religious opinion. He 
studied law, had been a soldier, and was well equipped mentally, 
physically and by training for the leadership of a persecuted 
people in this -'holy experiment" in the New World. 

By his simplicity, truth and love of fair play he conquered 



*The term Quaker was bestowed upon ttte sect of Friends in derision by Gervas Ben- 
net, a prosecuting and persecuting Judge, because George Fox bade them quake at the 
name of the Lord. 



26 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Indians, Swedes, Dutch and English and dug the foundation for 
his people to build upon to the grand success they today main- 
tain and upon whom is indelibly imprinted the stamp of this 
remarkable man. 

Expelled from Virginia, by Act of Assembly, the Friends 
sought a refuge in Maryland and were granted lands on the Eas- 
tern Shore in 1649. Upon Maryland therefore falls the honor 
of granting freedom in their religion and justice to the Friends. 

In a short time therefore a settlement was established in Tal- 
bot county and a Meeting house erected on Miles River* follow- 
ed by another on the Wye. About each there was land for a 
school house and graveyard, both most necessary adjuncts many 
community. 

With English Protestants and Catholics, Friends, and a mi- 
nority of other nationalities, Talbot county begun to become 
populated and prosper and this of course meant the establish- 
ment of a seaport within its bounderies, Oxford being the site 
chosen, and named after the old University town of England. 



*Ou the site of the present country sent of Mr. Robert H. Dixon on the inlet known as 
"Betty's Cove." 



CHAPTER VI. 

TALBOT'S FIRST TOWN. 




ROM all the data, facts, fancy and 
fiction, with due allowance for 
time's elapse, treacherous mem- 
ories and other drawbacks, all 
that can be learned of its ancient 
history, Oxford could add sixty 
more years to its age and be cor- 
rect in its figures, it having been 
first settled in 1635. I have been 
to some pains to glean the real 
facts about the earlier life of 
this old-young town, and but lit- 
•', tie remains now amid the new, 

but the legendary "oldest inhabitant" "just doesn't remember" 
what his grandfather told him about this and that person and 
place that had existence a century or two ago. Thus, it is that 
truth and fiction will be mingled with history, and the historian 
is right or wrong, according to his lights and prejudice. 

Oxford, as I can get at the facts, was first known as Thread 
Haven, being settled by English merchants. This recalls the 
fact that the river, now practically called the Tred Avon, was 
then known as the Thread Haven, as here was the port to which 
numerous merchant vessels came loaded with thread, cordage, 
ropes, hemp, etc., to find ready trade with the outlying country 
for tobacco. From Thread Haven it was merged in time into 
the The Third Haven — it is so called upon many old maps — and 
gradually by the mysteries of nomenclature drifted into Tred 
Avon. Oxford was the site first chosen for the future metrop- 
olis of Maryland, before Baltimore was thought of. It was origi- 
nally laid out by a woman, Mrs. Margaret Lowe. 

She it was who left in her will the "Strand," along the Avon, 
for "commercial purposes only," "Vancouver's Island," for 
"bonded warehouses," and Jack's Point, on Town Creek, really 
a river — as most Maryland creeks are, to use a paradox — as a 
common. 



28 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Mrs. Lowe was a philanthropist, from all said of her, a woman 
of unbounded charity ; and when she died, so highly was she 
regarded that she was "buried with military honors," as the 
records show. Her burial place is near Oxford, "unmarked, 
uuhonored and unknown." 
* In 1695 Oxford was surveyed by a King's officer, and named 
Williamstadt. Just how and when it merged into Oxford is lost 
in the mist of years, but it is said to have been named by an Eng- 
lish gentleman, who came over just fresh from the halls of learn- 
ing by that name in old England. With a view, perhaps, of 
keeping up the old scholastic dignity of the name, a large aca- 
demy, Eastford Hall, was established here, but was burned. Re 
built under the same name and on a grander scale, it became a 
'•'Maryland Naval Academy," which, prospering for a while, at 
length failed through mismanagement and merged into a summer 
hotel. In 1888 it burned down, fortunately in the day time, so 
that it did not prove a holocaust, as would have been the case 
had it occurred at night. Today it is not even a picturesque 
ruin, so complete was its destruction. 

Properly speaking, Oxford is on an island, for at a very high 
tide it is cut off, the narrow neck of land connecting it with the 
mainland being overflowed. Town Creek, the considerable 
stream referred to, runs to the north ; to the westward is the 
Tred Avon, and southward is what is also called the Tred Avon 
river, but in reality is an arm of the Chesapeake, the mouth of 
the Choptank river likewise being a part of the bay. 

The old settlers who hunted out this lovely spot of the Eastern 
Shore builded better than they knew ; for, though other counties 
may appear as beautiful as Talbot, they have not the healthful- 
ness, nor can they boast of the almost total freedom from those 
irritating insects known as mosquitoes. Some yearsagothe U.S. 
Government sent out officers for statistics of healthfulness of the 
entire country, and, with Royal Oak, four miles from Oxford, 
as the centre, and ten miles around as the circle, statistics show- 
ed that this part of Talbot county held the palm. 

There is no undertaker in Oxford and but two doctors, and, in 
spite of its age, the little "village of the dead" close by has not 
many graves. It is true that in olden times "family burying 
grounds" were the correct thing, but there are a few of them 
scattered about, and I regret to say that these have gone to 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



29 




GOLDS BOROUGH STREET, EASTON'S FAVORED RESIDENCE SECTION. 




EASTON'S COURT HOUSE GREEN ON ELECTION DAY. 



SO LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

decay, and the descendants of those who sleep in the sacred spots 
appear to think more of other comforts than those derived from 
weeding out old graves. 

While upon this subject, it may be well to speak of the old 
Episcopal Church near here — a hundred years ago the only 
place of worship in the vicinity. It was in this churchyard 
that Eobert Morris was buried in 1750. Said Morris was the 
father of the great financier of the Revolution, the friend of 
General Washington. His home was in Oxford, and he was a 
shipping merchant of large means. When visiting his vessels 
that came into port, he was always saluted by their guns, for 
those were the days of piracy upon the high seas, and all ships 
went armed. Going on board of one of his ships one day, he 
asked the captain not to salute him ; but not caring to be guilty 
of such a breach of marine etiquette, the skipper told his mate 
that he would accompany Mr. Morris ashore and when the boat 
left the ship he would give the signal and the salute must be fired. 
The mate mistook the captain's taking out his handkerchief for 
the signal, the salute was fired, and a wad from a gun struck 
Mr. Morris on the shoulder, causing a wound that proved fatal 
some days later. 

Some attest that Eobert Morris his son, was born here, and 
the honor of being his birthplace is given to a part of what is 
now an old wing of the Tred Avon Hotel, the Morris homestead 
having stood there. Other houses here are just as old, but no 
one seems to have heard which one can be claimed as the birth- 
place of the great Revolutionary financier, the man who came so 
promptly to the aid of Washington in the time of his great need. 

A Philadelphian remarked to me that it was wrong for the 
people here to allow the grave of the father of Robert Morris to 
remain in such neglect, and I could not but agree with him, 
and add : "As it is for Philadelphians to allow the graA^e of Ben- 
jamin Franklin to remain in a like condition." 

History has it that Robert Morris, delegate to the Continent- 
al Congress, organizer of the Bank of North America, one of 
the franiers of the United States Constitution and United States 
Senator, was born in England in 1734, yet his father came to 
Oxford years before the birth of his illustrious son, dying here, 
as stated, July 12th, 1750. If I question the oldest inhabitants 
here, they fall back upon their grandfathers, who lie around 



TALBOT'S FIRST TOWN 31 

Old White Marsh Church, and I am not yet in the ethereal con- 
dition to interview them upon the subject, so quien sabe% 

Iu the Oxford burying ground is the tomb erected to Colonel 
Tench Tilghman, of B evolutionary fame. The cemetery is on 
Town Creek, and is built, if I may so speak of the narrow house 
of the dead, around what was once the family burying ground 
of the Tilghmans, the old seat, "Plimhimnion," still standing a 
few hundred yards away. In those early days the Tilghmans, 
Goldsboroughs, Chamberlaines, Matthews and other noted Mary- 
land families, whose descendants live in Talbot county, dwelt on 
lordly estates for miles around Oxford, and a number of their 
mansions still stand to connect the present with the past, and 
each family, like the man in Texas, had its "own private bury- 
ing ground." 

So much for a few of the old memories that cluster about Ox- 
ford, whose citizens celebrated in 1895 its bi-centennial from 
the resurvey by Captain Phillip Hemsley, British army, in 1695. 
Today it is a pretty village, numbering some sixteen hundred 
souls, and still such a seafaring place that besides the three 
clergymen, two physicians, several storekeepers and the princi- 
pal of the public school, it is perfectly safe to call every other 
man you meet "Captain," and not go far wrong, for if not skip- 
pers of a vessel, they have been, or own an interest in one. 

The people are well-to-do, intelligent, charitable and stick to 
the Golden Bule as closely as any like community. All are pa- 
triotic, talk boat, discuss the affairs of the nation, and are pret- 
ty equally divided in politics, and religion. 

There is a fine public school, there are three churches, one 
shipyard, half a dozen dry goods stores, twice as many groceries, 
a couple of hardware houses, a drug store, all excellent in their 
way, and a tomato cannery, wheelwright and four large oyster 
packing houses, sending tons of the delicious bivalves as far West 
as Denver. 

A branch of the Pennsylvania Bailroad runs there direct, four 
hours from Philadelphia, and railway and boat communication 
across the bay from Baltimore and via Claiborne and Easton, 
besides two steamer lines direct daily. It is a local option town, 
and a "wink" at the soda fountain in the drug store does no 
good. Even hard cider is frowned down. 

Oxford is the haven of a couple of hundred vessels in the 



32 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

oyster and coasting trade, and it has a record for building fast 
schooners, buckeyes and canoes. In the fall, when the busy 
season opens, it is a beautiful sight to see the fleet of vessels 
sailing to and fro, and in the storms of winter it has had to 
mourn its gallant sailors lost. In the summer season it has a 
number of visitors to fill its three hotels, which may keep open in 
the winter as well, as the town is beginning to grow into an all- 
the-year-round resort. And why not ? for a more delightful spot 
for outing cannot be found, and its waters are the yachtsman's 
paradise. 

Near Oxford is a ' 'Lover's Spring, ' ' so called from the fact that 
those who drink of the waters will love the one who gives the 
potent draught ; this must be kept a secret as those suffering the 
pangs of ''unrequited affection" would flock there like locusts, 
and prove an equal plague. 



CHAPTER VII. 



TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO. 




ITHOUT going particularly into the geography 
of this part of Maryland, it may be expedient 
to speak of the attractions of the Chesapeake 
as an inland sea connecting with the ocean, 
and whose waterways form such a vast shore 
line of this "middle land," as it may be called, 
between the cold north and warm south. It is 
the situation of the Eastern Shore which ren- 
ders it so delightful as a home, neither too hot 
in summer nor too cold in winter, and thus its climatic advan- 
tages are unsurpassed anywhere. 

To the early settlers the Chesapeake Bay constituted both 
their strength and their weakness, where today it strengthens 
this locality alone and with its many navigable waters, rivers, 
inlets and creeks, bringing three-fourths of the farms in Talbot 
upon waters that freight and pleasure craft can go to the head 
of, it thus enables the farms, as well as the villages on the 
streams to have the means of transportation at their very doors. 
In those days, that tried men's souls so thoroughly, these same 
waterways brought the war vessels of foes to the hamlets and 
farms, thus being a drawback. 

But the wealth of these waters then, in oysters, fish, terrapin, 
crabs and wild fowl were a source of vast pecuniary revenue, 
though today they are far more so and yield supplies that go to 
the Gulf, to Maine and the Pacific. Being so favorably situated, 
the Eastern Shore residents are within the world, with their 
easy access to Baltimore, Washington, New York and it is not 
to be wondered at that those who dwell in the very heart of this 
favored district, Talbot county, are clannish, devoted to home 
and care not to leave the old family hearthstones. 

The Bay and its adjacent waters rival the canals of Venice in 
their facility for social intercourse, the pleasure craft being a 
means of communications as frequently seen as the carriage and 
saddlehorse. The roads were not to be boasted of in those days, 
as they are now, and the waters were mostly the means of trans- 



34 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

portation, and were as much to the colonists as the railroads of 
today are to the people. They traded and traveled on the waters, 
fought on them, sported on them and in them, and the homes 
then settled were within sight of the shores, few being inland. 

The Indians had found the Chesapeake waters all that their 
hearts could desire, and the colonists were only too willing to 
follow the lead of the untutored natives — where it was to their 
advantage and pleasure, not otherwise. The tide with a good 
flow and ebb, and with the true sea-brine in taste, does not re- 
tard sailing and rowing, and as the Indians, guided by Nature, 
had built the very best craft in which to sail these waters, the 
whites adopted their methods, the result being the canoe and 
pungy, skiff and buckeye, of today.* 

By means of these boats, the coasting buckeye, the farmers of 
St. Michaels, Eoyal Oak, Tilghman's Island, Tunis Mills, Oxford, 
Trappe and Easton get their grain and other produce to Balti- 
more markets at about one fourth the cost of freight and half 
the time that producers away from the Chesapeake can. 

The ships from London and Bristol two hundred years ago 
brought supplies to the doors of the people, anchoring in the 
rivers, and went back with a return freight of tobacco and 
other products grown in this country. In those days too the 
Chesapeake abounded in wild geese, brant, and ducks of many 
varieties and the ''canvas back" still holds the palm among 
epicures as the most delicate of wild fowls. 

Venison was accounted a " tiresome meat," so plentiful were 
deer in those days; squirrels were so numerous that rewards 
were given for their pelts, wild turkeys were found in the for- 
ests, a few bears now and then, with pheasants, ortolans, quail 
snipe, woodcock, pigeons, hares, raccoons and opossums. The 
waters rivaled the forests in producing all sorts of edibles, the 
pompano, bonito, perch, shad, bass, bluefish and many other 
varieties of fish and crustaceans. 

Nealy all the cultivated berries known in this country today 
then grew wild, with many indigenous wild fruits, while the 
flora was remarkable, the soil encouraging the growth of hard 



* The canoe is built of tour hollowed logs, from twenty to forty feet long; it is from 
three to seven feet wide, and carries tttree sails, a jib and two leg of mutton sails. The 
buckeye, also called bugeye, is of the canoj style of build, sharp at both ends, decked 
over and a staunch and fleet craft. These vessels are the fleetest that can be found in 
any land, and the Chesapeake people handle them with tlie greatest of skill. The cratt 
of one hundred years ago is the craft of today. 



TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO 35 

and soft woods side by side, and line grasses grew luxuriantly. 

Within a score of years only, after the coming of the Colonists 
to Talbot, orchards of apples, peaches, quinces and plums be- 
came a noticeable feature of the country, the exigences of tobac- 
co culture having caused the clearing away of heavy timber- 
lands. Sheep raising was not profitable in those days, on ac- 
count of the many wolves, but the fecundity of cattle, hogs and 
other domestic animals was remarkable, wild horses were a nui- 
sance to the farmers. f 

Was it a wonder then that a land so favored as this particu- 
lar part of the Chesapeake country two hundred years ago be- 
came the haven of people of all lands, who eagerly sought homes 
here, where climate, health and advantages were unsurpassed ? 
The men who came here were of many nationalities, but the 
English predominated. 

The clearing of new lands, and want of proper drainage and 
sanitary arrangements naturally caused much sickness then, 
fever and ague, with small-pox as a steady thing, for all had 
the small -pox or expected to have it next time it came round, 
and womanly beauty was often marred by the indelible pits. 
As for other ailments of the colonists the neighborhood Doctor, 
or "Medicine Man," could regulate them while the supersti- 
tious were given to "spells'' to cure disease. 

People physicked themselves sick, then sent for a doctor and 
that meant in many cases a funeral, for medicine as then prac- 
ticed was not the science it is today, and "powders," "castor- 
oil," "rhubarb," "sagetea," "bloodroot" and "poultices" about 
comprised the Materia Medica of the itinerant practitioner. 

Cupping and leaching were frequent, while wounds were fill- 
ed with gunpowder or turpentine and most crudely dressed. 
Tobacco was then served as a purchasing medicine, a pound of the 
weed buying three pounds of meat, two pounds of tobacco were 
given in exchange for a fat chicken, while a hogshead of the 
staple weed secured all the table luxuries that the gun and rod 
did not. Thus ^ as it a couple of centuries past, the beginning 
of colonist life in Talbot. To look upon that primitive picture, 
then upon the one of today, forms a striking contrast indeed, 
and sharply drawn is the line between the old and the new. 



t Wild horses are still quite numerous on Cliiucoteague Island. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



AS SEEN THROUGH A STRANGER 'S EYES. 




ERHAPS, to interest the reader who does not 
personally know this favored part of "God : s 
terrestrial football," I could not better acquaint 
him with the land of which I write than to 
quote from Mr. Calvin Dill Wilson in Lippin- 
cott's Magazine of January, 1898. Mr. Wilson 
has so thoroughly painted his subject that no 
words of mine could in any way add to his de- 
scription of the "Eastern Shore of Maryland." 
He says : ' 'That division of Maryland 
whicn is known as "The Eastern 
Shore" contains no vast extent of 
territory, and it is peopled by no im- 
mense multitudes ; no great historical 
event has occurred there; * it has not had the fierce light of pub- 
licity turned upon every happening within its borders ; it is not 
a state ; it is notan empire ; it has no gold or silveror coal-mines, 
no oil or gas- wells ; and it has no imperial possibilities. It is 
not the centre of the world ; no large metropolis exists upon it, 
and none ever will exist there." 

"Nevertheless it is a famous region ; its local name is known to 
most of the intelligent citizens of the United States, and the 
place indicated by the title is at once understood. It has a 
greatness of its own, and has claims upon public attention. Its 
situation is interesting ; its population has a marked character ; 
its products are valuable, and are in demand everywhere in this 
land, and in many places outside America ; and its fame is great 
because of the sensations it provides for the palates of men . 
The grapes of Ephraim or the onions and garlic of Egypt were 
not more famous among the Jews, or the wheat-fields of Egypt 
among the Romans, or the eel- and mullet-ponds of Lucullus, or 



* Yet Mr. Wilson might have added that it has been aland ol history in America for 
nearly three centuries, 



AS SEEN THROUGH A STRANGER'S EYES 37 

the wines of Falernia, among the same people, than some of the 
products of this region are among moderns." 

"The Eastern Shore" lies, like an arm thrust up by the ocean 
between the Atlantic and the Chesapeake Bay ; around it break 
the surge and thunder of the sea ; and ocean's breezes sweep 
perpetually over it; It is a sand-bar, but it is something more ; 
it is a garden, and an orchard. Nature seemed unkind when 
she strewed this sand upon clay without stones ; but she repent- 
ed, clothed it all in verdure, made it yield almost every fruit, 
vegetable, and berry in profusion and of finest quality, filled 
even the swamps with cypress, cedar, and piue, stored the 
streams with fishes, filled the waters along the coasts with shell, 
fish, and valuable funny creatures, sent flocks of birds into the 
fields and woods, and flights of wild fowl upon all the waters. 
But, despite the fame of its products, the Eastern Shore is one 
of the less well-known portions of our country. Few persons 
have any accurate conception of it or knowledge of its charac- 
teristics ; they have only a vague impression that it is a noted 
place from which many table delicacies come. 

"Yetit is an interesting region. It is apart of the Chesapeake 
and Delaware peninsula, which contains an area of six thousand 
square miles, bounded on the north by the State of Pennsyl- 
vania, on the east by the Delaware Bay and Atlantic Ocean, 
and on the west by the Chesapeake. Its length is about two 
hundred miles, and its greatest breadth seventy, while its nar- 
rowest part is fifteen. Of this territory the Eastern Shore of 
Maryland comprises four- ninths, Delaware three-ninths, and 
the Eastern Shore of Virginia two-ninths. 

"Its local name is no recent invention; it was baptized so long 
ago as to give its title, as things go in America, a quite vener- 
able antiquity. In a letter written by Lord Baltimore, dated 
October 23, 1656, he says "his lordship requires his said lieuten- 
ant and Council to cause the bounds thereof to be kept in mem- 
ory, and notoriously known, especially the bounds between 
Maryland and Virginia, on that part of the country known there 
by the name of the Eastern Shore." 

Some persons have an impression that this region is a confus- 
ion of swamps and sandy deserts ; but in fact a large part of it 
is in many respects an earthly paradise. To a certain extent 
isolated by its geographical position, it is nevertheless conneq- 



38 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

ted with the outer world by first-class railways and daily lines 
of boats. Its relative seclusion is the explanation of the devel- 
opment of marked characteristics among- many of its people ; 
there the breath of modernism has heretofore only begun to 
modify long established customs and habits. This is therefore 
an excellent place to study fixed types of character, and to ex- 
amine survivals from the past. 

"The population was originally almost entirely English, and 
the settlers belonged largely to the class of gentry ; the estates 
are still called "manors" and "houses," and the customs are 
largely English. The language of the better classes is quite Eli- 
z ibethan, and the libraries contain chiefly English classics ; the 
proverbs on the lips of the people are those of the days of Shake- 
speare. The superior homes are large and spacious, surround- 
ed by trees, and the inhabitants bear marks of culture and re- 
finement. 

"The most picturesque estates are to be found on the smaller 
islands, chiefly on the Chesapeake side. There is something 
fascinating about islands ; to own one, to have a stately mansion 
upon it, to be surrounded by a lovely family and numerous ser- 
vants, to have one's rich fields yield abundant food, and his 
woodland material for fires, to have the surrounding waters 
supply fish, oysters, clams, crabs, terrapin, ducks, and wild 
fowl, to have one's own quail, rabbits, grouse, and woodcock, 
to have one's own boats for sailing and for reaching the main- 
land when desired, is indeed to realize a dream. 

"The railway accommodations on the Eastern Shore are now of 
an excellent kind ; the necessity for rapid transit in shipping 
fruits and vegetables from this garden spot, which adds so large 
a contribution to the m arkets of several great cities, has devel- 
oped this industry. The peninsula is netted with railways 
branching from the main line, which bisects it from north to 
south. Six millions of consumers, within twenty hours' distance 
from the lowest point of the peninsula, await the products of 
this fertile territory. Eailways and steamers put the farmers 
and fruit- raisers and fishermen in quick contact with the mar- 
kets. There is scarcely a region in the United States of equal 
extent that possesses so large a proportion of cultivable land. 
The upper portion of the peninsula possesses a heavy and gent- 
ly rolling soil, which is covered with fine farms, superior for- 



AS SEEN THROUGH A STRANGER'S EYES 39 

ests of oak and chestnuts, and is admirably adapted to growing 
the cereals. Other portions have a lighter soil, especially suit- 
ed to fruits and vegetables. 

"One- half of the counties of the Eastern Shore have heavy 
crops of wheat, corn of superior quality is grown in nearly 
every section, while oats, rye and barley nourish. Peas, toma- 
toes, white and sweet potatoes, turnips, asparagus, beans, in 
fact, all the principal vegetables, there reach their highest per- 
fection. Fruits of a superior quality are raised in endless var- 
iety; the fig and the pomegranate ripen in the open air in the 
extreme southern counties, while in other sections peaches, 
pears, apples, plums, cherries, apricots, and quinces flourish 
wonderfully. Watermelons, strawberries, raspberries, black- 
berries, currants, cranberries, and whortleberries are also ship- 
ped to the cities in immense quantities. Grape culture has re- 
cently become a leading pursuit. 

"In this region the peach is cultivated to a larger extent and 
with greater success, both as to quality and as to quantity, than 
anywhere else in the world. In 1875 the peach crop was the 
largest known on the peninsula, and there were then carried 
over one railroad and its connections nine thousand and seventy- 
two car-loads of peaches. These figures represent millions of 
baskets of peaches, and a great many millions of quarts of straw- 
berries, raspberries, blackberries, whortleberries, cherries, cur- 
rants, and gooseberries. At the same time we are to remember 
that at least an equal amount of peaches and other fruits was 
shipped by boat, or used in the canneries or evaporating estab- 
lishments. 

"The waters of both shores abound with life in various and 
useful forms. Shad and herring- fisheries are numerous. In 
nearly all the waters are to be found in great abundance rock- 
fish, sturgeon, sheep's head, trout, and so forth. The extent of 
the oyster-beds in the peninsula is about five thousand three 
hundred and seventy-three square miles, giving occupation to 
more than ten thousand hands afloat. Besides six hundred 
dredging vessels, averaging twenty- three tons each, there are 
two thousand canoes, which take about five bushels each daily 
by tongs during seven months of the year. The product is not 
less than ten million bushels, worth in first hands five million 
dollars. Hard and soft crabs, turtles, and terrapin are plenti- 



40 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

ful nearly everywhere. Wild fowl are found in wonderful vari- 
ety of numbers and quality on the Atlantic shores. The choic- 
est game-birds in the world are here. Inland, woodcocks, par- 
tridges, snipe, wild pigeoris, rabbits, and squirrels abound. The 
climate is a happy mean between the tropical and the temperate. 
The soil seldom freezes to a greater depth than six inches ; 
ploughing in December and January is quite common. The 
planting and ripening seasons of the lower parts of the penin- 
sula are two weeks in advance of those of New Jersey, and four 
or five weeks earlier than those of Pennsylvania. 

"To the angler this region offers great attractions. For the 
gunners there are the canvas-back duck, the redhead, the mal- 
lard, the summer duck, the green-winged teal, the long-tailed 
duck, the black duck, the buffel-head, the tufted duck, the 
golden eye, the shoveller, the pin-tail, the blue- winged teal, the 
snow goose, the Canada goose, the sheldrake, the brant, the 
dusky duck, the scaup duck, and the bald pate. Here are to 
be had the long- billed curlew, the short-billed curlew, the 
red-backed snipe, the willet, the red-breasted snipe, the long- 
shanked snipe, the yellow- shanked snipe, the tell-tale godwit, 
the turn stone, the ash-colored sandpiper, the purre, the black- 
bellied plover, the red-breasted sandpiper, the woodcock, the 
quail, the English snipe, the clapper rail, and the reed-bird. 

' 'Any account of the Eastern Shore would be incomplete with- 
out some mention of the diamond- backed terrapin, which has 
been awarded the palm for delicacy and general excellence, and 
which, when averaging over six inches across his under- shell, is 
worth up to seventy dollars per dozen, when in season. Forty 
years ago these terrapins were wonderfully abundant, but they 
had not then come into general appreciation. The first really 
large catch was credited to John Ethridge, of Body Island, who, 
in ten days' fishing, caught over two thousand terrapin, and 
sold them in Norfolk for about four hundred dollars. This was 
the birth of the terrapin industry. He at once returned to the 
spot and dug out two thousand more, which he sold in Balti- 
more for three hundred and fifty dollars. These sales became 
known, and the extermination of the wild terrapin commenced, 
so many being obtained that for some winters they were sold at 
Southern points for two dollars a dozen. Eventually artificial 
propagation came into vogue as a staple industry. The largest 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



41 




LLANDAFF BRIDGE OVER THE PEACHBLOSSOM. 




PEACHBLOSSOM CREEK— A TYPICAL TALBOT LANDSCAPE. 



42 AS SEEN THROUGH A STRANGER'S EYES 

and most important farm is on the Patuxent, and consists of a 
salt-water lake which has been surrounded by a high fence to 
keep out the musk-rats and foxes, these being the chief enemies 
of the terrapin . 

"The wild terrapin are difficult to catch. The huuting of 
them is done in the summer and fall ; the hunters dig long shal- 
low ditches on the marshes and flats, and when the tide gets 
low they scratch the bottom with rakes until it is covered with 
a muddy paste. When the tide comes in it brings a few terra- 
pin, who find the soft bottom and realize that they have discov- 
ed a good place to burrow and spend the winter ; each tide 
brings more, and the mud is kept soft betweentimes. When 
winter comes the hunter goes down to his preserve with a huge 
pitchfork, and pushes it into the mud till he strikes something, 
and in case he judges it to be a terrapin and not a stone, he digs 
it out and puts it in his basket All through Maryland and 
Virginia the darkies are to be seen day and night on the marsh- 
es, armed with long, light iron rods, probing for terrapin. As 
the weather becomes cooler, the hunter takes large quantities of 
brush and makes a fire over the place where he knows the terra- 
pin are buried. The terrapin imagine that spring has come, and 
crawl out to be captured. 

"The Eastern Shore produces more table delicacies than any 
other region of equal area ; and it is claimed that a family may 
there enjoy the luxuries of life cheaper than elsewhere, and 
that the really poor man can live on the peninsula for less than 
anywhere else, save perhaps in parts of Asia. The poorest in- 
habitants of the peninsula are colored people. The rural negro 
there probably averages annually for his work less than two 
hundred dollars in cash, and many earn less than one hundred 
and fifty dollars a year, while others do not make one hundred 
dollars in cash. Nevertheless the negro of the peninsula is 
seldom without the means of appeasing his hunger and of cloth- 
ing himself comfortably. The winter is always short and usual- 
ly mild, while fuel is extremely cheap and in many parts to be 
had for the gathering. 

"There yet remain a goodly number of the old-time slaves, 
some of them of extreme age. 

"Here and there are to be found men who bear on face, form, 
and manner the stamp of the old Eastern Shore aristocrat. 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 43 

These are well fed, prosperous, with an air of good breeding, of 
command, and of conscious superiority. They still wear the 
slouch hat, keep the coat open, and show a wide expanse of fine 
linen shirt-front They are genial, hearty, hospitable, and 
proud. The Eastern Shore has its own share, of bright-eyed, 
fresh-complexioned, cheery, spirited girls, who outrival their 
peaches in color and perfection. 

"The homes of the aristocrats are filled with old things, old 
silver, old china, old pictures ; the lawns have old boxwood 
hedges and old trees. The villages are chiefly of a very old- 
fashioned kind ; one seems to have stepped out of the present 
into a remote past, when he visits portions of the Eastern Shore. 

"One can get some idea of the influences that have been at 
work there from the names of places. Here are the names of 
the counties ; Worcester, Somerset, Dorchester, Talbot, Caro- 
line, Queen Anne, Kent, Cecil, names great in English his- 
tory, and Wicomico, recalling the aborigines. Its rivers are 
Chester. Wye, Elk, Sassafras, Nanticoke, Choptank, Pocomoke, 
Wicomico. Manokin, and the bay on the ocean side is called 
Sinepuxent; most of these also recall the aborigines. These 
aborigines had permanent settlements or villages near the wa- 
terside, where they cultivated the soil and raised corn, beans, 
tobacco, and other crops ; it is evident that they appreciated 
their advantages in the way of vegetable produce. All down 
the bay there are shellheaps, often from six to fifteen feet deep, 
relics of the Indian oysterfeasts. 

"A leisurely pilgrimage over the Eastern Shore will well re- 
pay the observer of things American. Endless numbers of coves 
and estuaries indent the shores. The sleepy, old-fashioned vil- 
lages invite to dreams, by their quietness and quaintness. The 
ocean lashes one beach, and the gentle tides of the Chesapeake 
lap the other. 



CHAPTER IX. 



IN SLAVERY DAYS. 




GAIN looking backward into the 
early days of life in Maryland, it 
may be well to refer to what then 
was an "Institution" of the colon- 
ists, viz. slavery. A vessel had 
landed on Virginia's shore with a 
cargo of blacks from Africa, and for 
— these there was found a ready sale, for 
help was what was needed. For a long 
while do other cargo of human freight 
was brought to these shores, but the bait was too tempting not 
to be seized upon by bold mariners as a means of making a for 
tune quickly, and other adventurous mariners seized the op- 
portunity to capture Africans and bring them over. 

Remember those were the days of lawlessness afloat and ashore, 
buccaneers infested the coast of America and other lands, Cap- 
tain Kid, Morgan and other pirate chiefs were skimming the 
seas for treasure, and king's officers and adventurers on land 
were making what capital they could in any manner that prom- 
ised large returns of gold. 

Therefore the slave trade begun to prosper and even correct 
New England, with her Puritans and Pilgrims, were glad to 
shift the heavy labor upon broad black shoulders and own plan- 
tations and slaves, only the poor Africans could not stand the 
severe winters of that region, and hence, in a spasm of virtue 
they relegated slavery to the more genial clime of the further 
south, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia, and it extended thence 
. into the Carolinas and the Gulf coast. 

Without a word in favor of enslaving a fellow being, with 
only a feeling that the institution of slavery was wrong, I can 
only say that "the times" allowed it, and the laws of the land 
made it a legal feature of this country, and only the advance of 
civilization has wiped it out. 

"As the twig is bent the tree inclines," and so Southerners, 



IN SLAVERY DAYS 



45 



born to consider slavery right, it was hard indeed to teach them 
that their ancestors were all wrong in upholding it, especially 
as its doing away with struck a hard blow at the pocket. 

Admitting the wrong of slavery, with no wish to argue that 
many poor whites who work in factories throughout the north, 
are in even worse slavery today than were the blacks of the 
south, there is certainly one thing it accomplished, and that is 
it took out of densest barbarism in Africa those who were brought 
from there by lawless acts, and civilized their descendants who 
dwell in this country. It did more in the civilizing of Africans 
than all the missionaries have done, and can ever accomplish, 
and the American negro of today, through the slavery of gener- 
ations of his ancestors, is fortunately a distinct race from those 
whence he sprung, ninety-nine one hundredths of whom are liv- 
ing in densest barbarism in the Dark Continent's jungles, clothed 
only in a smile, possessing only a cheap edition of a Bible as an 
amulet, and narrowly escaping being Darwin's "Missing Link." 

But to early slavery in Maryland, not forgetting for an instant 
that Talbot is Maryland, for on the western shore all was then 
St. Mary's, and on this shore all was Talbot, there were not 
only black slaves in those days but white ones, "redemptioners" 
and indentured servants. 

The Indians, not born to slavery, receded before the white 
man, their hunting grounds becoming tobacco fields, for then it 
was "King Tobacco" as later it became in the South "King 
Cotton" though just now wheat and sugar are rivals for the 
royal titles. Of course there can be found no one today whose 
ancestors came over as "English convicts," but the fact remains 
that such were sent to the col- 
onists as "white slaves" (o 
work out their term of sen- 
tence, and having so done 
they were glad to remain here 
and build up a new character 
with their home. In my re- 
search after fa cts I have fou 1 1 d 
no one who traced his family 
tree, back to a convict — but 
let that p-'ss, for two centu- 
ries of time wipe out a legion Washington street, easton. 




LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 46 

of memory it were well to forget, and one who has nothing pleas- 
ant to remember can well pass his leisure hours in trying to forget. 

"Redemptioners" were invited to Maryland and the laws scru- 
pulously protected them while in service and made provision for 
their well-being after they had finished their term of service. 
Many of these people won fortune and influence and built up 
wealth for their descendants, who now enjoy their thrift and 
the saving of a penny to leave to posterity. Others are not so 
iortunate as far as the inheritance is concerned. 

So valuable was tobacco culture here then that many persons 
were kidnapped in London— an old English game often played — 
and sent here to be sold into slavery. The landlords were 
granted lands in proportion to the number of their servitors, and 
and the aristocratic "lord of a manor" was required to have 
a large following. If land was rented it was paid for in the 
commodities of the country, and the landlord could take up a 
hundred acres for each slave, then he could import as many ser- 
vants as his means would allow. When labor was high, land 
and living were cheap. It was not until negro slavery became a 
fixed fact that white slavery ceased. When white labor was dis- 
franchised, then Legan the lording over the black slave by those 
who were cruel taskmasters. 

There w.ere many and good laws to protect the slave, and often 
these were rigidly enforced, though quite as often not. The 
slaves were acknowledged as citizens, forced to do military ser- 
vice as well, and the severest penalties were put upon them to pre- 
vent their running away from their masters, to whom they were 
so much property. The person who harbored a runaway slave 
was fined 500 pounds of tobacco for each twenty-four hours he 
kept him in hiding, and, if unable to pay the line, he could be 
publicly whipped, so it was a rule that worked both ways. If 
severe, the law was just for both master and slave. It gave ser- 
vants the right to appear in court. If master or overseer or 
mistress illfed them, gave them insufficient clothing and bedding, 
overworked or abused them, or in punishment gave them over 
ten lashes, there was a heavy penalty for each offence. If great- 
er punishment was needed than ten lashes, the slave had to be 
brought before a magistrate. 

So just were the laws to govern slavery, even among the blacks, 
there is little doubt there were among the lawmakers those who 



IN SLAVERY DAYS. 1? 

had been "redeinptioners," or indentured servants, and knew 

from sad experience what it was, thus acting upon the adage that 

"a fellow feeling makes ns wondrous kind." It was indeed an 

atrocious law, however, that allowed the selliug of a debtor into 

slavery. The following advertisement in the Maryland Gazette of 

March 16th, 1769, may be of interest, the runaway being an 

Irishman : 

"FORTY SHILLINGS REWARD. 

Last Wednesday morn, at break of day, 
From Philadelphia ran away 
An Irishman named John McKeoghn, 
To fraud and imposition prone, 
About five feet five inches high, 

Can curse and swear, as well as lie, 

How old he is I can't engage, 

But forty-five is near his age. 

He came, as all reports agree, 

From Belfast town, in Sixty-three. 

He stole, and from my house conveyed, 

A man's greatcoat, of bearskin made, 

Besides a pair of blue-ribbed hose, 

Which he has on, as I suppose. 

He oft in conversation chatters , 

Of scripture and religious matters : 

But take the rogue from stem to stern 

The hypocrit you'll soon discern. 

Whoe'er secures said John McKeoghn 

As soon as I shall get my own 

Shall have from me, in cash paid down, 
Five dollar bills and half a crown. 

MARY NELSON." 

There are Nelsons in Talbot, but I have found no one who 
owns descent from said John McKeoghn. 

If the truth must be told, the people of Talbot then did not re- 
gard slaves as they later did under the pressure of civilization, 
as pait and parcel of their homes and families. The people were 
more fond of cock-fighting, horse-racing, entertainments and the 
minuet than of books, though they were withal cultivated, hos- 
pitable, honest and brave. Today slavery is a thing of the past, 
and never again will there be trading in human lives ; but that 
slave time knew its virtues as well as its sins is proven by the 
noble conduct of the slaves of the South during the civil war, 
where no act of hostility and inhumanity was committed by them 
when the women and children were at their mercy, and today 
there arc connecting links between the white man and the negro, 
the old-time "uncle" and "auntie", which show how strong- 
were the ties of affection between the two races, and which nev- 



48 



LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 




MILES RIVER— THE YACHTSMAN'S MECCA. 




CHOPTANK RIVER AND DOVER BRIGDE. 



IN SLAVERY DAYS 49 

er could have been so had the master been the tyrant many 
would have you believe him. The old time negro is fast disap- 
pearing, and soon the places that knew him will know him no 
more. Like others he served well his part in making the his- 
tory of this mighty new world, his descendants have stepped in- 
to his place, and he is slowly passing into the Beyond to be re- 
membered only as a strong type of "Slavery Days in Dixie." 



CHAPTER X. 



OLD TIME CUSTOMS AND PEOPLE. 




HUNDBED and fifty years ago there 
was on the Chesapeake shores a dis- 
tinctive aristocratic class, and Tal- 
bot may be said to have been the 
social head -centre of the, even then, 
large, well educated and wealthy 
clique who were considered "to the 
manor born." Their associations 
were with the English-born mer- 
chants, officers of the Crown and 
professional men, of conrse includ- 
ing military and naval dignitaries, and these alone were the re- 
cipients of lavish hospitality of the wealthy planters of the East- 
ern Shore. 

In places the clergy founded fairly good schools, and served 
as tutors for the children of the rich, landed class of aristocrats, 
who, themselves, were content with their own limited education, 
for it was limited then to a marked degree. So very meagre 
was the education of even the aristocrats then that the clergy 
and lawyers were alone up in books, while but few could boast 
of an intimate acquaintance with the three B's. 

Not for a moment let it be thought that the clergy neglected 
their spiritual duties in teaching the A B C's— for a considera- 
tion — to the children of the wealthy, for they did not, any more 
than they allowed religion and teaching to interfere with their 
sports, for in those days, fox hunting, cock-fighting and horse- 
racing parsons were very frequently found. They could preach 
as long and pray as earnestly as they could ride and chase a fox. 
Dress distinctions bespoke the man in those days, as did also 
his seat in the Church, for the old English customs even now 
cling to the people of this part of Maryland, and yet the seed of 
hostility was then taking root against the Motherland, a seed 
that later sprung into a mighty harvest, for the reaping was a 
Nation. It is unfortunate that more praise cannot be bestowed 



OLD TIME CUSTOMS AND PEOPLE 51 

upon the clergy of the English Church of that day, but it cannot, 
for they brought ill repute upon their religion and thus enabled 
an opening wedge of other creeds to enter, take root and prosper. 
The Methodists gained a firm hold upon the community, as 
did also the Presbyterians, while the Friends, pursuing the even 
tenor of their way, took good care of their people, mentally, bod- 
ily and spiritually. Perhaps it were just as well not to delve too 
deep into the creeds and lives of our ancestors, who were making 
a new world for themselves — and their posterity — but let the 
veil of forgetfulness drop between the then and now, or, as it can 
be better put : 

"Let the dead past bury its dead." 

Had we lived in those days we would have done as they did, 
so we can only claim better morals and behavior in the broad 
glare of public opinion of to-day. One thing is assured, and 
that is, that the present generation owe far more than poster- 
ity alone to the brave pioneers of long ago, for we inherited from 
them at least the mighty nation that now is ours, and which 
was bought with their blood and heroism. Eunning one's eye 
down the long roll of names that helped to build up Maryland, 
and which are linked with the Eastern Shore, particularly with 
Talbot county, we find many engraven on the pages of history, 
and which the withering touch of time can never erase. 

It may justly be said that Kent county has the honor of being 
the oldest foothold of a government in Maryland, for a settlement 
was established on Kent Island by William Claiborne, a man 
upon whom much censure and abuse has fallen, yet who, in the 
light of recent years, is not regarded as black by far as he was 
then painted, and whose descendants to-day are among the most 
prominent of Maryland's families. Talbot was taken from Kent 
county, which then embraced the whole Eastern Shore, in 1661, 
and in 1695 Kent Island, called the "Gem of the Chesapeake," 
was added to Talbot. In 1706 Kent Island was detached from 
Talbot and given to Queen Anne; but Talbot is now a very large 
domain of land and water in itself. 

To call the roll of ancient names in Maryland is almost to read 
over the present directories of its numerous towns and villages. 
Preferring to those most prominent, and which are a transcript 
from Revolutionary War annals, we find the Andersons, Adkins, 



52 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

Bartletts, Bartons, Bayards, Biddies, Bowies, Brents, Buchan- 
ans, Brownings, Batemans, Calverts, Cabells, Calhouns, Carrolls, 
Caulks, Cecils, Chamberlains, Chews, Clays, Claibornes, Carl- 
tons, Comegys, Contees, Courseys, Dandridges, DeCourseys, 
Dennys, Dixons, Downs, Dickinsons, Duvalls, Eagers, Earles, 
Edniondsons, Edens, Eniorys, Everetts, Gibsons, Gilmores, 
Goldsboroughs, Gordons, Grangers, Greys, Hammonds, Handys, 
Hansons, Hay wards, Hollydays, Howards, Hynsons, Hughletts, 
Henrys, Hughes, Jenkins, Jenifers, Kerrs, Kemps, Latrobes, 
Lees, Lloyds, Lowes, Lowndes, Leonards, Mullikins, Magruders, 
Marshalls, Martins, Masons, Mays, McHenry, Morris, Nichols, 
Morris, Ogles, Pacas, Palmers, Pascaults,|Peales, Penns, Pick- 
etts, Pinckneys, Polks, Prestons, Pues, Basins, Binggolds, Boes, 
Butledges, Scharps, Schleys, Slaters, Skipwiths, Smiths, Shan- 
nahans, Stewarts, Spragues, Stones, Taylors, Teackles, Tildens, 
Tilghmans, Trippes, Tharps, Vaughans, Veaseys, Vickers, War- 
fields, Wetherills, Wilmers, Whittinghams, Wirts, Wroths, and 
so on, adflnitum. 




';W 



CHAPTER XI. 

OLD BURYING GROUNDS. 

UST why family graveyards were almost in- 
variably placed in full sight of, and close to 
the dwelling house of the living is not easily 
explained. Some assert that it was a desire 
!!of the living to have their loved dead near 
them, while others say that in the olden 
>v!ra>- time it was to protect the graves from 
v^fr$f : Indian despoliation, or the bodies being 
unearthed by the wild animals. Whatever 
the motive, family burying grounds of the 
South are strangely near the habitation of 
the living. In many cases here in Talbot 
"' the dead are inearthed close up to the man- 
sion, or quite within a stone's throw of the broad piazzas 
upon which the families are wont to gather on summer even- 
ings. These resting places of those who have gone before, under 
the eye of the living, seem a constant reminder that man's span 
of life was of short duration, and he, too, must soon go into the 
shadows of the Great Beyond. 

In New England, and the Middle States the early settlers lived 
close together, the farms were not large, and a community had 
one burial place, there seldom being family burying grounds on 
a home estate. But in the South it was ever different and every 
plantation and farm, with rare exceptions, had its graveyard. 

In Maryland, on the Eastern Shore and particularly in Talbot, 
these family burying grounds were a feature of every country 
home. Though there have been perhaps fewer changes here in 
Talbot of proprietorship of estates, so many remaining in the 
hands of descendants of the first American ancestors, yet quite 
a number have changed ownership, and the bones of the dead 
went with the land, so to speak. 

The change of owners meant also neglect of the burying ground 
on the estate; for new comers, unconnected by kindred ties with 
the dead, cared little, if anything, to keep the sacred spot in 



54 "" LAND^OF LEGENDARY LORE 

good condition; for death is sacred, and human ashes sanctify 
earth if anything does. 

Talbot is dotted far and wide with these old family graveyards, 
a few in a fair state of preservation and well kept, yet most of 
them crumbling to decay, the brick walls a ruin, the gravestones 
time-worn, broken, moss-grown and even the inscriptions almost 
obliterated by the storms of many and many years. A few of these 
once respected sanctuaries of human ashes have even their his- 
tory unwritten, while in places there are graves that are unknown 
entirely. 

By a strange coincidence, however, one grave, standing alone 
and unmarked by a stone, many know of and recall its history. 
It is, however, marked by two trees, a large and small holly tree 
growing at the head and foot, and, en passant, I may remark 
that the holly grows to greater perfection and beauty in Talbot 
than any other place I ever knew. Many of them grow to the 
size of forest trees. 

But to return to that lone grave. The one whose ashes rest 
there was a character, from all reports handed down of him. He 
was a hard drinker, or perhaps it would be as well to say an 
easy drinker, as he was fond of his glass at all times. He was 
also very fond of tobacco, smoking and chewing. 

Dying, he did not wish to be deprived of either his rum or 
his tobacco, and doubtless having a respect for the Indian be- 
lief that one starting for the Happy Hunting Grounds should 
be well supplied, he left instructions that his coffin should be 
made extra long, and be left open at each end, while at the head 
should be placed a jug of liquor, the very best of spirits, and 
ten pounds of tobacco, smoking and plug. 

His idea for having the ends of the coffin left open was, that 
should the Devil come after him his spirit could play hide-and- 
seek with his Infernal Majesty, by slipping in and out at will. 

Whatever his real motive, he was buried as described; and 
there, in full sight of the passerby is his grave, marked by the 
holly trees, while the corn and the rye, the juice of which he 
loved so well, grow in the surrounding fields, fields which now, 
however, know the cultivation of tobacco no longer. It may be 
said with truth that this lonely grave really is haunted by spir- 
its, and many an old toper longs to know just what age has done 
in the way of improving the contents of that jug. 



. OLD BURYING GROUNDS 55 

; The most remarkable of all family burying grounds in Tal- 
bot, and in fact without its equal as such elsewhere in the 
United States, is the one of Wye House, the home of Colonel 
Edward Lloyd. This graveyard is across a beautiful old garden 
running to the rear piazza of Wye House, and filled with a 
most luxuriant growth of box hedges, trees and flowers, with 
arbors and many picturesque nooks. The graveyard has the 
proportions and imposing appearance of an English village cem- 
etery, and is encircled with a high brick wall, massive and well 
preserved still. 

There are tombs that show wealth and loving regard from 
their designs, especially so when one recalls that they were placed 
there over two centuries ago. 

A striking feature of this remarkable burying- ground is that 
seven of the tombs bear the name of Edward Lloyd, revealing 
the fact that seven generations of that name lie there and have 
been buried from Wye House. 

And more: there are now living three generations of the same 
name, Colonel Edward Lloyd, the present courtly master of 
Wye House, a true gentleman of the Old School, a man wiio has 
lived his three score years and ten in the full knowledge that he 
bears a great and honorable name.* 

Then comes Edward Lloyd, Jr., the Colonel's son, whose 
home is near Wye House on a beautiful island in the Wye 
river, and his son, Edward, making ten generations of the one 
name. 

It is within this quaint old cemetery of the Lloyds that Ad- 
miral Franklin Buchanan, who married Colonel Lloyd's sister, 
lies buried, while near his grave is that of Commodore Lowndes 
of the U. S. Navy. Also here are the graves of Captain Win- 
der, U. S. Army, and of General Charles Sidney Winder, U. S. 
A., and later a gallant officer of the Confederacy; so there side by 
side, connected in life by kindred ties, rest those who wore the 
blue and those who wore the gray. In addition to these graves 
there are many more of note, among the Lloyds and their kin- 
dred, in the Wye House cemetery. 

Another famous burying- ground is the Tilghman's, at the 
Hermitage, and branches of the same distinguished name have 



* The wile of Col. Edward Lloyd Is the granddaughter of Francis Scott Key, author 
of the "Star Spangled Banner." 



56 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

their graveyards at Eich Keck Farm on Tilghman's Point, and 
on several other estates which have passed ont of the possession 
of the family. In these there are grave stones recording dates 
of the death of those whose ashes lie beneath, over two hundred 
years ago.f In sight of the Tilghman's old time mansion of 
Eich* Neck is the burying ground, only a short distance from 
the mansion, the foundation of which was laid over two centu- 
ries ago. The little cemetery shows that the monuments were 
crowded most closely, considering the vast amount of land to 
draw upon ; but then, perhaps, the old timers, knowing the 
healthfulness of the spot, did not expect many to die. It is 
walled in with stone, and ruin , desolation and death are indel- 
ibly stamped upon all. The oldest tomb there is in a fair state 
of preservation, and bears the name of one "who departed this 
life May, 1696," just 202 years ago. 

It is stated of this old burying ground that when a party 
was given at the mansion years past, a young man, fond of his 
cups, hid there a bottle of whiskey upon his arrival, for future 
reference. Later he returned to the spot with a few congenial 
spirits to indulge in a drink, but did not know that meanwhile 
a stray hog had been caught by the negroes and thrown over 
into the sacred spot for safe keeping until the morrow. The 
hog had followed the example of those about him and had gone 
to sleep when the party, returning for the spirits, found, as they 
supposed j other than ardent spirits, for up sprung the animal 
with a wild rush, The bottle fell on a tomb and scattered the 
contents, while the terrified youths fled like deer to the mansion, 
swearing off as they ran. 

A strange feature of the Oxford Cemetery is that, while it is 
Talbot's oldest town, there are no very old gravestones in it, as 
White Marsh and family burying-grounds received the dead of 
that early age. 

The burying- place of the Goldsboroughs at Ottwell was an- 
other of the very old ones of Talbot, but some years ago the Golds- 
borough family had the ashes of their ancestors removed to Eas- 
ton and entombed in the Spring Hill Cemetery. The Chamber- 
lain burying-grounds, both on the Plaindealing and Bonfield 



t The Rich Neck farm has been bought by a syndicate of Easton capitalists, and the 
Intention Is to make of It an all-the-year-round resort, being an Ideal spot for one. 



OLD BURYING GROUNDS 57 

estates, are very ancient, as Maryland history goes, and there 
are others scattered throughout the county that all trace of has 
been lost. 

Of the burying-grounds about the old churches, mention has 
been already made in these pages, but the present age dwells 
more upon the living of today, rather than the dead of long ago. 



CHAPTER XII. 



THL OLD MARYLAND WAY. 




AEYLANDERS "to the manor born" are 
natural genealogists. They learn at their 
mother's knee, along with their prayers 
and A B C's, who they are and who was 
their father and grandfather before them. 
_di Many of them also learn to go back six, and even to 
j^H^f** the ninth generations as Americans, while upon the 
Eastern Shore, and particularly in Talbot, a number of them to- 
day dwell upon lands granted to their ancestors away back in 
the days of Governor William Claiborne and Lord Baltimore. 
This is particularly trae of those who were Church of England 
people, Boman Catholics and the Society of Friends. Ancestors 
that could be regarded with pride by their descendants were 
constantly spoken of to the children of those days, and they were 
made to realize that they, too, had perhaps been born to great- 
ness. If there had been any "black sheep" in the family flock, 
they were simply passed over in silence. 

But those same children never realized and enjoyed the true 
pleasures of childhood as known later, when stereotyped customs 
no longer kept them in stocks. Joys they had, but with all the 
pomp and circumstance that their elders could awe them with. 
They learned their lessons well, of kinship even to the fourth 
and fifth cousins, and when they grew up had the genealogy of 
by-gone generations at their tongues* end. 

Thus the custom came down to the present day, and Eastern 
Shore people not only know who their families are for genera- 
tions, but the history of generations of their neighbors' kindred, 
with the added fact that where they ignore the frailties in their 
own blood, they can unearth for you at any time the skeletons in 
other closets not sheltered by their rooftree. But this has been 
human nature since time immemorial, to see the mote in the oth- 
er fellow's eye, and to bring a microscope to bear upon it, too, 
in the observance. 

A look at the life in the plantation homes of those days is of 



THE OLD MARYLAND WAY 59 

interest, viewed from our lives of to-day. The large and crum- 
bling manor-houses cannot be said to have been most comforta- 
ble, compared with modern comforts. They were too draughty, 
and wood fires, even in enormous hearthstones, did not give a 
genial and steady warmth, while the furniture was too precise 
and stately for comfort. The plantation, from the mansion to the 
slave quarters, was a settlement in itself. There were pictur- 
esque windmills to be seen, a necessary appointment for the 
grinding of flour and cornmeal. The hominy was beaten for use, 
and the bacon and hams all cured on the place. If there were 
fifty "hands" — slaves — on the plantation, this meant over 10,000 
pounds of bacon and 4000 pounds of meal to be stored away for 
the annual consumption, not to speak of other edibles that were 
a necessity. 

Then there had to be homes for these fifty laborers and their 
families, homes for themselves apart from the "Great Home," 
as the planter's mansion was called. The stables, granaries and 
storehouses were locked each night, but the mansion never, for 
it would have been regarded as inhospitable to turn the key 
against a friend or traveler. Large as their houses often were, 
they were not large enough for the hospitality of their inmates. 
Spacious rooms and halls and broad piazzas were the features of 
these homes, with armchairs, rocking chairs and settees that to- 
day would be stiff and devoid of all ease. 

The dining rooms were of most generous proportions, and the 
sideboard, with its decanters, was a most important piece of fur- 
niture, while there was brandy from France, rum from the West 
Indies, wine from the Madeiras and gin from Holland ever there 
to be served. You were well waited on, your wants were antici 
pated, a helping arm aided you to bed after a late flow of spirits, 
and, as surely as the morning came, your mint julep was brought 
to your room by a servant as an eye-opener. The tables were 
bountiful, and with every delicacy land, water and importation 
could provide, while the cooking was such as to make the name 
of Maryland cooks famous the world over; and just here I may 
add, the lessons taught then are handed down to the present age. 

Terrapin, oysters and canvasback ducks, as also venison, all 
luxuries now and high priced, were then so common that hired 
laborers of the planters had it put in their contracts that they 



60 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




THE OLD MARYLAND WAT 61 

were not to be fed on these edibles "more than once each week." 
And think, too, of fine brandy selling at $2 per gallon , Antique 
Rum 50 cents per gallon and best wines at $1 per gallon. These, 
too, were drunk out of solid silver tankards and the finest cut 
glass. When invited to drink, and not to extend an invitation 
would be strange indeed, few ever refused, and even the clergy 
were always ready to drink the very good health of his host, and 
his own in particular. 

Two marked features of a well equipped planter's home were 
the family burying ground and a coach-in-four, the latter often 
having negro postillions. These old-time carriages have all gone 
into the misty past ; not a trace of them, with their swinging 
bodies, on huge leather springs, being found. They were used 
then for formal calls, state affairs and to go to church in, the lat- 
ter often distant many miles, while to-day the coach-in-four is 
not known here, but is the pleasure vehicle of wealthy northern 
people. Those who dwelt north of that invisible line — Mason 
and Dixon's — that marked the division of the north and south 
so thoroughly in the bygone, often wondered at the wealth, ex- 
travagance and luxurious lives of southern people, and perhaps 
there was engendered a feeling which the good people are urged 
to pray against being led into — id est, "envy, hatred and malice." 
But the war has changed all that now, and it is oftener the 
northern folk who ride in their coach -and -four, have a full reti- 
nue of servants and live luxuriously, while the southerner ac- 
cepts the iconoclastic situation with true philosophy and makes 
the best of it. To do this shows true grit in the blood, and this 
the southern people, from mountaineer to fisherman, statesman 
to planter, certainly has to an abnormal degree. 

The family burying- ground of an estate was not one to be hid- 
den away in a remote corner, for it was often within full view of 
the front piazza, as though to be put where the living could keep 
vigil over the dead. Often it was in the garden, and the well 
trodden paths leading to it showed that the dead were not for- 
gotten lying off there in the gloom of the grave and eternal 
night-shades. I remember one burying-ground where not one 
of the graves, and there were a score or more of several genera- 
tions, was marked by slab or tomb, only upon the little mound, 
so strangely unlike all other things on earth, grew ivy, violets, 
forget-me-nots, roses, jassamine, geranium and other flowers. 



62 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

A visitor to the house, an English nobleman, asked with sur- 
prise of the lady of the house : "Why, how do you know the graves 
apart?" "How do I know my dead apart 1 ? Why, you might 
as well ask me howl knew my living loved ones apart, for the going 
out of life of those who rest here each broke a heart-string which 
no other love can unite." 

The genuine "Old Maryland way" was most cordial in its 
friendships and hospitalities, the homes always keeping "open 
house" and being constantly crowded, while with convivial 
meetings, visitings and the utmost scope of hospitality, the la- 
dies even were busy, while horse-races, fox-hunts and other sports 
kept the men on the go, bringing into use all the horses and ve- 
hicles as well as the yachts and barges afloat. Such was the Old 
Maryland way in the last century, yes, and down to within the 
life-time of many who have not yet passed their allotted space of 
three -score years and ten. 



CHAPTEB XIII. 




THE "FRIENDS"* IN TALBOT. 

CBOSS the ocean to the old Mother- 
lands went the fame of Maryland 
as a province, where there was no 
persecution of those holding creeds 
at variance to the orthodox method 
of worshipping God, a country where 
religious and irreligious liberty 
was not only tolerated but allowed without 
comment or interference with one's conscien- 
tious belief. Along the shores of the At- 
lantic, from the Chesapeake to the Kenne~ 
bee, the same fame of religious liberty in Maryland went, and 
thus those persecuted for holding conflicting creeds were glad to 
find a haven of refuge in this much favored land. 

The result of this liberal allowance of thought in a man was 
the coming to the Eastern Shore of Maryland of that sadly per- 
secuted sect, the Quakers. They came from across the sea, from 
Virginia, from New England and elsewhere, to see this Eldorado 
which would be an asylum to them. Especially did the Friends 
settle in Talbot county, and an unswervingly honest, temperate, 
generous, yet clannish people, they left their impress ineffaceably 
upon this country. At that time, 1G50, be it recalled, Talbot 
county embraced territory now included in Queen Anne's and 
part of Kent and Caroline counties, as well as its own exten- 
sive domain. In New England, Boston in particular, where 
only a century ago alleged "witches" were burned at the stake, 
the Friends were terribly persecuted, for the Eastern States 
were not then traveling upon the broad gauge of advancement 
and true liberty that now distinguish their citizens This per- 
secution in New England gained for Talbot many of what are 
among its best people of to-day, the Friends. They came hith- 
er to find an asylum and found it, while the beautiful country 



*Meanin£ 
QuaKers. 



those whose are unjustly, though not with intentional injustice, called 



64 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

delighted them. They came to work hard, to found new homes, 
new associations and to lay the corner stones of future greatness 
and fortunes. 

The log cabin homes erected, and in this each gave to the 
other a helping hand, their fields planted, they began to turn 
their attention to the building of their Meeting Houses, where 
they could worship in their own silent way. To me, there is 
nothing so effective as silent prayer — it leaves one wholly alone 
with his conscience, ofter afar from pleasant companions; and 
to think of one's sins is the sure way to reform himself. 

But this is wandering off into unforbidden ground — Religion 
— and there are so many devious and distinct ecclesiastical toes 
to tread upon, one is not safe in diverging from the beaten path 
which means, in the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln 
"with malice toward none and charity toward all." 

But to those Meeting Houses of our "Friends, the Quakers:"* 
It was three years after the establishment of Talbot county that 
the Friends came here to settle, in 1657, the first coming from 
Virginia, and the Meeting Houses, primitive in the extreme, for 
they do not believe in "an outward, visible show oi an inward 
spiritual grace," were erected at Wye, Little Choptank, Island 
Creek and one, which was doubtless the first, on "Betty's 
Cove," Miles Biver. 

This one on Betty's Cove was built of clapboards and stood on 
the boundary line between the homes of R. B. Dixon and Dr. 
Cherbonnier, while it covered ten acres of land and faced the 
river, from which it was distant but a few rods. The records 
show that here also was a graveyard, and that the little build- 
ing was repaired in 1676, but in 1693 it was abandoned, left 
alone with its encircling dead, while a larger and more preten- 
tious Meeting House had been erected in a more central location 
at the head of the Third Haven, on Avon Biver. This last 
building was so placed as to be convenient to every part of the 
country, even by vehicles on the highways, the bridle paths or 
water, for, from the Avon, vessels have cleared, and come from 
every part of the world. 

The locality of this greater Meeting House, great still in the 
memories that cluster around it, could not have been better 



♦The name of Friends was adopted by this sect from the words of Jesus Christ to 
his Disciples: "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." 



THE FRIENDS IN TALBOT 65 

chosen, for it is just south, of Easton, in its suburbs now, and 
heuce the site of sites, showing how well chose they who locat- 
ed the county town just where they did. The Friends' Meeting 
House at the head of the Avon was also not a long walk across 
for those who came by boat to Betty's Cove on Miles Eiver, 
while as all roads lead to Borne, it is said, so all highways and 
streams in Talbot lead to Easton. This house was a frame 
building with massive timbers, boarded and shingled, and to- 
day stands as a monument of the old time style of building. 

As the records have it: "Our joint Quarterly Meeting for 
both Shores, held at ye home of Ralph Fishbourne ye 27th day 
of ye First Month 1683, the meeting decided upon this greater 
House, it being unanimously agreed that Betty's Cove Meeting 
be removed to ye great Meeting House." Hence the greater 
House was built, the lesser one, about which still rests the 
ashes of the Talbot Friends' ancestry being left to crumble to 
decay, if not into forgetfulness, for 

"So the multitude goes, like the flower or the weed, 

That withers away to let others succeed 

So the multitude comes, even those we behold, 

To repeat the old tales so often retold." 
Among the Friends who attended the old Meeting House was 
Wenlock Christison, who fell a victim to his creed and was sen- 
tenced to be hanged in Boston, yet was later released from 
prison, not because of humanity, but because the English gov- 
ernment ordered a mitigation of his punishment. Many are the 
names in Talbot to day of the ancestors of those who attended 
that old Meeting House, and whose ashes there repose, and 
among them can be named John Edmonson, William Southbee, 
Howell Powell. Thomas Taylor, John Pemberton, William Cole, 
John Dickinson, William Dixon, and Gorsuch, Johns, Berry, 
Pitt, Kemp, Bartlett, Sharp, Williams, Webb, Sparrow, Bork- 
head and many more too numerous to mention here. 

It is stated as an indisputable fact that George Fox, the 
founder of the Society of Friends, attended the meeting at 
Betty's Cove that originated the building of the old Meeting 
House near Easton, and later also attended what Eastonians 
now speak of as the "William Penn Meeting House." It was 
in 1684 the meeting was held, and George Fox describes 
the greater house in his journal as being located upon the Avon 



66 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Eiver (old style Tredhaven) . This meeting lasted live days, 
the first three attended by all of the Society of Friends, the 
last two only a men and women's assemblage for discipline. 
The Friends were not alone in attending their meetings, for 
Eomanists, Protestants, Indians and Negroes were often present, 
in fact this new house had to be enlarged to hold the people. 

To John Edmondson fell the honor of entertaining George 
Fox, his farm at the time being the one known as Cedar Point, 
owned by Mrs. Edward B. Hardcastle of Easton, but leased to 
Charles H. Leonard. In his journal Fox says that he attended 
the meetings each day, going by boat, and the boats were so 
numerous in the river the scene reminded him of the Thames of 
London. He also spoke of "seeing both rivers" — the Avon and 
the Miles — from the Meeting House, and this shows to what an 
extent the heads of the two streams have filled up in the past 
two hundred years. George Fox also at that time had inter- 
views with the chiefs of the Algonquins, Susquehannahs and Ir- 
oquois, whose villages he visited. 

At that time the Friends in Talbot kept a boat — the "Good 
Will" — and horses, expressly for the use of their ministers in 
traveling through the country. Upon his return to England 
George Fox sent to the Meeting House a number of books, some 
of which are still held by the Society, and this was the first 
library known in Talbot. This greater Meeting House was 
built in no slipshod manner, as its fine state of preservation to- 
day shows, after having withstood the storms of over two hun- 
dred years. The builders did not slight their contract, as is too 
often the case with them in this hurrying age. 

There was a committee of Friends appointed, as the old record 
reads: "To agree with ye carpenters for ye building of ye 
said house * * * 60 foote long, 44 foote wide, and to be strong, 
substantial framed work, with good white oak sills and small 
joyst, and ye upper floors to be laid with plank and ye roof to 
be double raftered, and good principal rafters every 10 foote, 
and to be double studded below, and to be well braced and win- 
dows convenient, and shutters, and good, large stairs into ye 
chambers, which chambers are to be 40 foote square at each 
end of ye house, and 20 foote vacant space between them : and 
for other conveniencys to be left to the discretion of ye afore- 
said Friends." 



THE FRIENDS IN TALBOT 67 

Now there was no going behind this contract, only I fail to 
see, with my limited knowledge as a builder, how in a house "60 
foote long by 44 foote wide," two chambers on second floor 
could be made at each end 40 foote square, "with 20 foote va- 
cant betwixt them." Still there stands the old Meeting House 
to-day, stout, staunch and with wondrous staying powers to re- 
sist the ravages of Old Father Time, and any one, Friend, Pro- 
testant, Romanist, can go out and measure the dimensions and 
then figure on those "40 foote square rooms with 20 foote va- 
cant space betwixt them," and see how it was done in "ye long 
time ago." 




CHAPTEB XI Y. 

LINKED WITH THE PAST. 

gf HE records show that this old Friends' 
Meeting House, built so long ago, a 
connecting link still strongly uniting 
the present with thespast, had the first 
meeting beneath its roof the 5th of De- 
cember, 1684. Dwelling near it today 
in a little cot lives "the old sexton," a 
negro. Struck by the strangeness of a 
ft I^CST \ negro for grave digger, in a late visit to 
\ the old Meeting House, for the negro race 

in their acute superstitions are wont to "see things" not visible 
to mortal eyes, and hence give graves a wide berth, especially 
at night, I asked him if the ghost ever troubled him. 

"I never seen none, sah ; but I does hear warnings in the old 
church jist before any one dies who is to be buried here." 
"What are the warnings V J 

"Well, sah, they is crackings of the timbers in the old house, 
and knockings, telling me to git ready ter dig a grave, for some 
one is coming soon to fill one, and they know, sah, for them 
warnings never fails.' 1 

I heard "knockings" too!, but set them down to the creaking 
of the timbers under the influence of the wind, but then I had 
not the faith of the old sexton in things spiritual. 

From a minute dated 6th of 12th month, 1690, a house was 
erected on these grounds, near the river side, for the accommo- 
dation of visitors from a distance (the two chambers over the 
meeting rooms probably being insufflcient). The statement is, 
"That Friends on this shore are to pay to Ealph Fish bourne 2041 
lbs. of tobacco; It being ye one-half of what he disbursed for 
building ye house for conveniency of Friends from a distance, at 
the creek side, near our Great Meeting-house." As late as the 
early part of this century some persons now living can remember 
when they went to and from this meeting in row or sail boats (in 



LINKED WITH^THE PAST 69 

preference to carriages), and had only to walk a very short dis- 
tance, this tributary of Third Haven Eiver, which is merely a 
ditch now,- being navigable then. 

It is evident that provisions were furnished these Friends by 
the members here, if they were not already supplied. The min- 
ute in regard to it reads : ' 'This meeting considering ye great 
distance yt many Friends have to come both by land and water, 
yt may repair to our Yearly Meeting, whereby they may want 
necessarys, therefore this Monthly Meeting appoints Joseph Eog- 
ers to inquire into ye same, and to give Friends account, yt so 
they may be supplied if any want to be." Thus proving that it 
was not a spirit of inhospitably that prevented all visitors from 
being entertained at private houses, but doubtless an inability 
to accommodate the large number who came, or to find means of 
transportation for them. 

For several years monthly meetings were held two days in suc- 
cession. The reports varied but little in expression, but it is 
evident, from their length, that considerable business was ac- 
complishLed. As the smaller meetings declined, others were es- 
tablished elsewhere. Some resigned, or suffered themselves to 
be disowned on account of the slavery question, which agitated 
the minds of Friends at an early date; and many were disowned 
for marrying those not in membership with the Society, in con- 
sequence of the ceremonies being performed by a minister or 
priest (for they styled all by that appellation), because tortures 
had so frequently been inflicted through their instrumentality ; 
therefore a breach of the discipline in that respect was deemed 
almost an unpardonable offense; but from a decrease of members 
and a more charitable spirit toward all Christian denominations 
rules of discipline in this particular have relaxed greatly. 

Marriage intentions in those days were announced in the 
meeting by the parties themselves, in both the men's and wo- 
men's meetings, on two ^separate occasions,* and thirdly, fin a 
written form, together with the written consent of the parents of 
both, consequently it embraced three months before the ceremony 
was accomplished. At the present epoch the "passing," as it is 
termed, is settled in writing. The first marriage on the meeting 
records bears the date of 1668,* and reads as follows : "William 



*These records began at the first Meeting House on Betty's Cove. 



70 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Southbee, of Talbot Co., in the province of Maryland, the 29th 
day of the First Month (O. S.) and in the year 1668, in an As- 
sembly of the people of God, called Quakers, at their meeting, at 
the house of Isaac Abrahams, solemnly in the fear of God, took 
Elizabeth Eead of the aforesaid county and proviuce, spinster, 
to be his wife ; and she, the said Elizabeth Eead, did then and 
there, in like manner, take the said William Southbee to be her 
husband, each of them promising to be faithful to each other. 
To which the meeting now witnesseth, by signature." A regu- 
lar record of marriages, births and deaths has been kept since 
1668, and it appears even earlier than that. 

Settlements of estates, contracts (either legal or otherwise), all 
disagreements, also consent asked for certificates of removal, and 
for traveling Friends and ministers, as well as for approval of 
marriages, were submitted to the meeting, and committees ap- 
pointed to investigate the clearness of the cases . Tobacco being the 
currency for many years, all collections and business transactions 
of the church were made in that way except in occasional dona- 
tions of grain, produce, furniture and cattle. The first collec- 
tion in money was made in 1713. In that era tobacco seems to 
be the staple crop. The Indians considered it a sacred herb, a 
precious gift of the Great Spirit to his children, and the act of 
smoking, with them, has always something of a ceremonial or 
even religious character. 

Friends were conscientiously opposed to paying tithes; but 
their personal effects and slaves were often seized to the amount 
equivalent to the assessment, though they were compensated out 
of the meeting's fund for their loss. The records show that care 
has been exercised in providing for indigent members when af- 
flicted or unable to support themselves, and assistance rendered 
to fit others for business. The subject of education claimed 
their early attention, and several schools were established under 
their superintendence. A school- house was built on a portion 
of these old Meeting House grounds in 1782, but was removed 
to Easton in 1791. A proposition was made in 1816 to move 
this Meeting House there ; a lot of ground was purchased and 
bricks burned for the purpose, but the matter was reconsidered 
and thought inadvisable. 

Friends were much exercised in regard to taking oaths. This 
meeting applied for an act of the English Parliament on the sub- 



LINKED WITH THE PAST 71 

ject; and in 1681 Richard Johns and William Berry were re- 
quested by the Meeting to appeal to the Maryland Assembly to 
exempt the Society from taking oaths, — which was favorably re- 
ceived by the Lower House but not by the Upper ; but in 1688 
Lord Baltimore published a proclamation resolving to dispense 
with oaths in testamentary cases. Thenceforth those who had 
any scruples in the matter were permitted to affirm. The spirit 
of war has always been denounced by Friends as inconsistent 
with a Christian life, believing that arbitration is a much more 
peaceable and satisfactory mode of settling disagreements. Min- 
utes state that collections were made several times for the bene- 
fit of their members suffering from the Revolutionary War in 
this country, and from the effects of the Rebellion in England 
and Ireland. 

We are informed that it was a usual custom with Friends, 
after attending the sessions of West River Yearly Meeting, to go 
on board of the slave-ships and select their slaves. In 1759 
the Yearly Meeting of Maryland advised care in importing and 
buying negroes ; in 1760 condemned importation ; in 1762 con- 
demned importing, buying or selling slaves without the consent 
of the meeting; but in 1777 slave-holding was made a disownable 
offense. The first William Dixon freed and provided for a num- 
ber of his slaves long before the consciences of others had been 
moved in the matter. Some voluntarily manumitted theirs. 
Isaac Dixon, James and Benjamin Berry, Sarah Powell, Benja- 
min Parvin, John and Sarah Register, John and Magdaline 
Kemp and James Turner were a few of the number. Schools 
were afterwards provided for the benefit of these colored people; 
and their efforts were unceasing until the general manumission 
occurred in 1863. 

The following account is given of William Penn's visit here, 
in 1700. ; 'We were at a Yearly Meeting at Treadhaven, in Ma- 
ryland, upon the Eastern Shore, to which meeting for worship 
came Wm. Penn, Lord and Lady Baltimore, with their retinue; 
but it was late when they came, and the strength and glory of 
the heavenly power of the Lord was going off from the meeting; 
so the lady was mucn disappointed, as I understand from Wm. 
Penn, for she told him she did not want to hear him, and such 
as he, for he was a scholar and a wise man, and she did not 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




LINKED WITH THE PAST 73 

question but lie could preach ; but she wanted to hear some of 
our mechanics preach, as husbandmen, shoemakers and such 
like rustics, for she thought they could not preach to any pur- 
pose. William Penn told her 'some of these were rather the best 
preichers we had among us.' " Letters and epistles were re- 
ceived and read at this meeting from William Penn as well as 
George Whitehead, Daniel Gould and other prominent Friends, 

An interest has always been manifested in the welfare of the 
Indian race. The mild and persuasive treatment of George Fox, 
William Penn and others seemed to insure their respect and con- 
fidence through succeeding generations. Therefore credit is due 
the society for the primary step towards their promotion. 

So little did our early predecessors appreciate one of the com- 
forts of life (as well as health) that for almost a century they 
had no means of heating this building (foot-stoves, filled with 
hot embers, were sometimes used by woman Friends). Some 
opposition was offered when a stove was proposed, and after- 
wards bought (in 1781), declaring that their religious zeal ought 
to be sufficient warmth. It is authentic that one of the members 
was so unyielding that, to show his disapproval, he called it a 
"dumb idol," and made it a receptacle for his overcoat, but as 
there was no lire, no damage was done ; the following Sabbath 
he repeated the act without noticing the fire, and the odor aris- 
ing from the smoking garment attracted his attention (much 
to the amusement of the witnesses, especially the children), 
and Friend Parvin had the humiliation of going to its rescue 
— convinced of his error as to a stove being a "dumb idol." 

This house was saved twice from being destroyed by fire; once 
by a Friend whose name was Sarah Berry (about the year 1810); 
she extinguished the flame by rubbing it with a stick, not hav- 
ing time to obtain wal er or give the alarm. This ancient build- 
ing brings many memories. Since its erection great progress has 
been made in the arts and sciences — nations have been formed 
and fallen asunder ; and now this house is following the course 
of all terrestrial things — decay. 

What memories crowd upon us as we stand in the pres- 
ence of the Past ! How great is the mind of man, and how 
wonderful ! It grapples with complex subjects but to reduce 
them to comprehensive simplicity. It measures the length and 
breadth of our land and knows the coming of the seasons. It 



74 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




VIEWS IN EASTON TWENTY TEARS AGO. 



Washington Street in 1878. 
Market Space before the Are of 1878. 



Same scene after the fire. 
Thompson & Kersey's 20 years ago. 




"ARISTON," ON THE AVON, OWNED BY MRS. K. J. ROBINSON. 



LINKED WITH THE PAST 75 

brings into action latent forces — commands them, and they obey. 
Yet how insignificant when it attempts to comprehend the dura 
tion of time, and to measure the untold length of the past! Two 
hundred years ! what is it but a drop in the ocean, but a thought 
in the history of ages? Yet, short as it is, generations have 
come and gone, the young have become old and passed away. 
Sturdy oaks, that withstood the storms of winters, and among 
whose inviting branches carolled birds for scores of summers, 
have flourished and fallen. 

In the silent yard of the old Meeting House lie entombed the 
ashes of those whose presence once made glad the heart, whose 
buoyant steps delighted the ears of loving friends, around whose 
board echoed the voices of happy children, and from whose gates 
the stranger turned not away. The moss-covered stones and 
sodded mounds remind us of loved ones whose hearts no longer 
pulsate with the quickened fire of youth, whose hoary heads no 
longer bow in humble reverence to the Author of Light. Lire 
young and the fair are there ; in the morn of life, Death waved 
his wand, and they are not. The middle-aged are there; 
he pointed his pallid finger to the strong man, and his proud 
form lies prostrate. The aged are there ; he beckoned, and they 
obeyed his summons. Those lie there whose welcome voices 
once sounded within these walls, calling the attentive ones to a 
higher and better life. Here they were led'in childhood by the 
hands of faithful parents. 

On the face of those rough-hewn timbers are written, "Pass- 
ing away, passing away." The plain, undecorated walls seem 
to echo the voices of long ago, and humbly call the weary soul 
to rest. The unpainted benches remind us of the untarnished 
lives of true Christians. The unassuining^door-ways, low ceil- 
ings and unsteepled roof are typical of the meek and lowly who 
adorn not the exterior, to be seen of men, but who worship God 
with an humble and contrite heart. No organ peal is heard ; but 
beyond the solemn silence break the heavenly words, ' 'Peace, be 
still." Countless changes have been wrought since those foun- 
dations were laid. Cities have sprung into existence ; millions 
of acres, on whose surface civilization had never trod, have be- 
come fruitful ; foreign lands have been visited and peopled; new 
nations have flourished, and old ones perished. 



76 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Then the forest still resounded with the axe of the settler, and 
the voice of the engine was unknown ; now iron wheels thunder 
through the cleared and fertile valleys. Then small craft wan- 
dered over the trackless sea, subject to the whims of the wind ; 
now iron steamers can stretch their foamy wake from shore to 
shore, regardless of the weather. Then months were occupied 
in communicating with foreign countries ; now electric cables 
pulsate with the heart-throbs of continents. Then persecutions 
on account of religion were not infrequent ; now the glorious 
liberty of conscience extends throughout our land. When the 
Tred Avon Meeting House was erected, the author of Pilgrim's 
Progress was still preaching the gospel in England ; Dryden , the 
father of modern English prose, was in his glory, and the name 
of Alexander Pope had not been heard. In that house the par- 
ents of George Washington could have worshipped in childhood, 
and Peter the Great could have heard the teachings of Jesus. | 

In reviewing the changes wrought by the works of man, the 
thoughtful mind marvels with astonishment ; but in contemplat 
ing the unchangeable laws of the Deity, we are dumb with ad- 
miration. During these twenty decades, man's works have 
crumbled into dust ; but the sun, undimmed in glory, still 
moves in his mighty course, the King of Day ; while the moon, 
the faithful watcher of the night, reflects his splendor as in the 
beginning. The unwearied stars still march to heavenly music, 
without deviation from their fixed course. 

We are passing away; our lives, like the waves, last but a 
moment ; our voices, like the sigh of the wind, are forgotten ; 
our forms are but clouds on the blue vault of life, changing and 
disappearing. In the impenetrable future, endless generations 
will follow to take the place of those gone before. 




CHAPTEE XV. 

OLD TIME CHURCHES. 

CITY often springs into existence 
from a cross-roads where a store 
and a blacksmith's shop alone are 
to be seen. Then comes a dwell- 
ing or two, a -school-house and a 
church. With the school-house 
and the church as a firm foundation, the cross-roads pushes 
ahead more rapidly, grows into a village, buds forth into a town 
and then spreads into a city. Many a pretty town and prosper- 
ous city in our land has been built up around a church, once 
placed off to itself in a location convenient to the surrounding 
country. There people gathered on the Sabbath Day to hear the 
Gospel preached in the good old way, and not "as it is preach- 
ed to day 7 ' in many cases. There they also gathered on a more 
serious duty still than religion, to lay away in the little church- 
yard some loved one who had gone into sleep eternal. 

As time passed on, the neighbors grew closer together, a home 
for the parson was built, and soon the lone church became the 
center of a flourishing city, though many of the older people 
loved to remember it, and loved it best, when it stood a silent 
sentinel alone, save its dead, over whom it kept watch and ward. 
How stirring are the lines of Alexander Smith, who, in a poem 
put into the mouth of a man crossing a lone moor after midnight, 
the words : 

"I heard a distant spire 

Start in its sleep 

And murmur of the hour." 

The country church holds an attraction for nearly everyone, 
and in village, town or city the places of worship are generally the 
most attractive feature, save to travelling men, and they are 
hunting ; 'the best hotel." There were no "drummers" at 
that time in Talbot, for they came into particular and favorable 
use with the steamer, the telegraph, rapid transit and electricity. 
Nothing is too swift for the drummer, and they deserve all they 



78 LAND OF LEGENDARY LOBE 

get. The first Methodist Church of which there is any record 
in Talbot was erected in 1774 on a site now in Kent County, and 
no trace of it remains, though one now stands in St. Michaels on 
the site of one erected prior to 1800. To-day the Methodists are 
a power in Talbot, but when they first gained a foothold here 
they had a hard row to hoe, and it was sometime before they 
could gain converts. 

The Eev. Francis Asbury was sent over by Wesley from Eng- 
land, and he at once begun earnest) work in preaching Method- 
ism wherever he could find a sinner, and sinners were by no 
means rare then, as now. He and his fellow Methodists met 
with persecution, as had the Catholics, Church of England peo- 
ple and Friends ; but he was unswerving in duty and came to 
Talbot as a bonanza of wickedness and a soil in which to sow the 
seed of salvation. He preached one sermon, and the people of 
Talbot promptly jailed him, and in Easton. This was no damper 
to his ardor, for he begun to preach through the iron grating of 
the jail windows. This drew a crowd, and he kept it up, with 
prayer and psalm singing, telling the people all about a beauti- 
ful Heaven and a terrible Hell, until ribald laughter ceased; he 
was allowed to go and "Those who had come to scoff remained 
to pray." Those who had ordered his arrest at once saw that 
they had made a mistake, for he drew crowds like a circus, and 
he was promptly turned out, as it was said that if he was kept 
in jail he would convert every man, woman and child in Talbot. 

It is asserted of this indefatigable worker in the vineyard of 
sinful souls that he preached eighteen thousand sermons, prayers 
not counted, and rode one hundred and fifty thousand miles preach - 
ing the Gospel. There is a befitting monument to his memory 
(1854) in the Mount Olivet Cemetery, Baltimore. James Hur- 
ley, another Methodist preacher, was arrested and fined for 
preaching, so he "whipped the devil 'round the stump" by get- 
ting down upon his knees and praying an exhorting sermon. 
Freeborn Garretsou, a third itinerant Methodist minister, was 
arrested in Cambridge and put in jail, but his cell had no win- 
dow facing the street, and the jail keys were hidden to prevent 
his friends from aiding. But persecution arouses sympathy and 
destroys bigotry, and when he was released from jail he found 
the seed he had sown taking root, and then came the hard strug- 
gle to keep out the tares. 



. OLD TIME CHURCHES 79 

More than a century before the Methodists gained a Church 
footing in Talbot, and some years prior to the building of the 
Betty's Cove Meeting House of the Friends, there was a Church 
of England house of worship erected in Talbot, and more, it was 
by no means an ordinary structure, but one quite imposing in 
those crude times. I refer to what is known to-day as the "Old 
White Marsh Church," or rather its ruins, for it was accident- 
ally partially destroyed by fire only a short time since, the vic- 
tim of carelessness after it had stood for nearly two centuries and 
two-score years a monument indeed to the ancestors of many of 
the oldest and most prominent families in Talbot. Deserted 
long ago for the new Parish Churches in the town of Eastonand 
villages of Trappe and Oxford, the old White Marsh had been 
left to its silence, gloom and neglect. The sacred ashes of the 
dead that sleep under the shadow of its walls did not guard it 
from ruin, for their tongues were forever silent, their voices no 
longer echoed within the old sanctuary, and memory alone could 
appeal to the busy throng of their descendants. 

The silent pleading of the old church, of the dead about it, 
was not heard, at least not heeded, and so the ashes of the 
quaint old edifice and the ashes of generations tenfold who wor- 
shipped beneath its roof were mingled together. If there is sa- 
creclness in the consecration of a church to the worship of God, 
there should certainly be reverence in the hearts of its members 
— united to it by ties so binding as their religious roof tree, 
where they have been brought to attend divine worship since 
childhood, as their parents and generations of grandparents 
were before them — I say there should have been reverence 
enough in their hearts to have preserved that old edifice and its 
tombstones, kept it from destruction, and honored it as a con- 
necting link with the long ago. 

At least, now that fire has made it but a ruin, those who are 
connected to it by the sacred ties of other years should, at least 
for the sake of the mouldering tombs still there, make of the ru- 
ined walls a monument to revere and point to as ages pass away. 
Who will undertake the task to train ivy over those massive old 
walls, clean up the burying ground, place tablets with the ob- 
literated inscriptions on the stones and encircle all with an iron 
fence ! Will not the good women of Talbot move in this matter, 
for where woman wills the thing is done. 



80 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




WASHINGTON STREET, EASTON. 





MORELA.ND BUILDING, EASTON. 



OLD TIME CHURCHES 81 

The bricks of old White Marsh were all brought from England, 
in the clipper ships that traded with Oxford over two hundred 
years ago, and those same bricks were paid for in tobacco. 
When the parishioners of the old White Marsh begun to desert 
it for more conveniently situated churches, other houses of wor- 
ship of their creed were erected in St. Michaels, Trappeand other 
villages in Talbot. General Tilghman begun at his own expense 
a stone church at Oxford, back in the forties. The death of the 
General at his home of Plimhimmon, near Oxford, caused the 
work on the church to cease just as the walls had been raised a 
few feet high. 

The wild myrtle and the ivy now found an abiding place there, 
and in a score of years had made of the walls a most picturesque 
ruin of what appeared to have been a very ancient structure. 
Several years ago the ruin was taken in hand and completed, it 
now being a very handsome church. 

Many years ago, when the town of St. Michaels had but three 
hundred people, yet with the surrounding country to draw from 
was of some importance, there stood an old Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, about which many recollections are still treasured 
by the oldest citizens. In the burying ground hard by stands a 
monument bearing the following inscription: 
"Erected by numerous friends 
in memory of 
Garretson West. 
Born in Talbot county in 1800, 
Born again in 1818, 
Died in 1853. 

Now, this second birth doubtless refers to his conversion, for 
he was a noted Methodist preacher, unlearned, yet earnest and a 
"burning and shining light as an exhorter." Of this good old 
man many stories are told, of how he never used Psalm book or 
Bible in giving out his hymns or teaching the Scriptures, aston- 
ishing those not in the secret of his marvellous learning of the 
Holy Book, when the truth was he could not read. Blessed with 
a wonderfully retentive memory, he had the Bible and hymns 
read to him and committed all to memory at a few readings, 
while, with a mind fixed upon all in Sacred Writ as fact, he 
argued from that standpoint against all "cisms." On one occa- 
sion he gave out as a text: "Best ! My text is found between 



82 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

the first and last pages of this sacred Book," and then he went 
on to preach a most powerful sermon that must have made sin- 
sick sinners in the rear pews terribly uncomfortable. Knowing 
that he was not up on Scriptural quotations, he would not say 
where just such a verse could be found, but would aptly put it : 
'•You'll find it in Scripture." 

There was another quaint character in St. Michaels, who was 
driven to conversion through fright. He believed in "signs," 
was very superstitious but a hard customer. To the people he 
was known as "Uncle Isaac", and one night a man went to bis 
little home and called out in a sepulchral voice : 

"Isaac, prepare !" 

"For what ?" called out Isaac. 

"For death /» 

"Who is that t" 

"The Lord!" 

A scuffling was heard within, soon the door opened and Uncle 
Isaac darted out, making a bee line for the old Methodist Church, 
at a speed that was wonderful. There was a revival meeting 
going on at the church, and in rushed old Isaac, up the aisle to 
the "mourners' bench," when down upon his knees he went, 
beginning to pray and sing vigorously. Of course he was more 
than welcomed as a "brand snatched from the burning ;" but 
the story was too good to keep, leaked out, and when it reached 
the convert's ears he "blackslided" in a manner most forcible, 
while his expressions were of a carmine hue. 

In tearing down the walls of old Christ (Episcopal) Church in 
St, Michaels to give place to a new one, under the church were 
found, in a good state of preservation, several tombs of ministers 
long since called to their rest. The present church was erected 
in 1812, but is the third built upon this spot. The first record- 
ed baptism is in 1682. 

St. Joseph's Church at Wye in the long ago now remains only 
as a memory in the hearts of good Catholics. Various are the 
traditions told of this ancient chapel as to its age and history, 
but if it went back into two centuries ago, the records do not re- 
veal the fact. It is said that there was a small mission on the 
site where St. Joseph's was later erected, and years ago inscrip- 
tions on surrounding stones revealed dates as far back as 1640 ; 
but no proof of this exists, and it is believed to-day that the St. 



OLD TIME CHURCHES 83 

Joseph's Chapel was the first one built there. To prove this, old 
records show that the Eev. Joseph Morely built the chapel, and 
in 1764. From a list of the principal Jesuit Eectors in Maryland 
now before me, I find that they date back to .1633 and up to 
1773, and Father Morely's name is among them and the date 
1758, so if he founded the chapel it could not have existed in 
the sixteen hundreds. 

From 1773 until 1806, for; thirty- three years, the Jesuits as a 
priestly body were unknown, for those who remained in Mary- 
land attached themselves to the secular or Bishop's clergy, for 
they did not care to relinquish their active missionary work 
here. Father Morely was one of those who remained, and he 
toiled faithfully for his people until his death June 3d, 1787. 
For some reason the records of St. Joseph's were not kept or were 
destroyed, hence very little, save in the way of tradition, can be 
learned of the mission chapel and its pastors ; but Eev. Joseph 
Morely certainly left a saintly legacy to his successors. 

A few extracts from Father Morely's day-book may be of in- 
terest and also fix the date his mission was founded. He says : 
"March 18th, 1765, I took possession of a tract of land I bought 
of Parson Miller and his wife and Sarah Wellington, on which I 
put eight negroes which I bought from Eev. Mr. Lewis in White 
Marsh, Prince George County, viz., Nancy, Zun, Frank, Paul, 
Lucy, Davy, Nancy and Henry. Their expenses in transport- 
ing them came to £10—150.00. May 11th, 1765.— 1 received 
from Eev. Matthias Manners, to pay for our land in Talbot County, 
£260, 10s. [This was not the land upon which the Chapel of St. 
JOvSeph's at Wye was built, according to the following : "May 
30th, 1765.— To Mr. John Miller for land, £272, lis, 9d. The 
deed of our land at St. Joseph's, Talbot County, was signed 
sealed and acknowledged before Col. Eichard Tilghman, Provin- 
cial Justice, &c. May 31st, 1765. — The deed was entered in 
Talbot Court."] 

These entries in Father Morely's daybook would indicate that 
St. Joseph's was built in 1765, and that is looking a long way 
back into the past for the existence of a church, while many are 
the traditions that cluster about it and its dead. The church 
that was started there is another one of the bonds that are so 
frequently found in Talbot connecting the old with the new. 



CHAPTEE XVI. 

WEIBD TALES THAT ARE TOLD. 




^ ,f 



as firmly believed. 



ROM things spiritual, the Old 
Churches, it may be apropos to 
turn to things ghostly, tell 
weird tales that are told even 
to-day and have been handed 
down from fireside to fireside. 
Some are true, known to be, yet 
those that are founded upon 
superstition are, by many, just 
There is a cross-roads village a few miles 
from Easton which is known as "Hole-in-the-Wall." As to just 
how it got its name accounts differ, according to the narrator, 
but it is more often called by that old time appellation than by 
the one it bears on Uncle Sam's Post Office records, Hambleton. 
One of the tales told of how it got its queer cognomen is that 
the sailors of ships, crossing the ocean to the then flourishing 
and busy seaport of Oxford, were wont to slip ashore with their 
smuggled goods and pass them through a hole in the foundation 
wall of an old building. There the secret agent, never seen by 
them, counted the cost of the articles and handed back the mon- 
ey in payment. Thus neither the sailor nor the agent saw the 
the other and hence could not be recognized before a court on 
trial for breaking the law. 

Another version is that a man dwelt in the old home who had 
a very pretty daughter, whom he did not allow to receive com- 
pany, and when a young man did his courting, it was to his in- 
terest to discover if the ''old man was about;" hence a hole in 
the wall had been made for the gallants to peep through and 
reconnoitre. 

Still another story is that a suitor for the girl's hand went 
there one night and, through the hole in the wall discovered 
his hated rival in the house and saw enough to prove to him 
that he was the successful one, and, in his jealous rage he de- 
termined to kill the one who had made him miserable, He had 



WEIRD TALES THAT ARE TOLD 85 

fired upon his rival, killing him, had made his escape, was not 
suspected of the crime, later married the girl, and only on his 
death bed confessed that he had done the deed. Whichever 
the true story, or if all of them were more or less correct, the 
place is to this day called Hole-in-the-Wall. 

It is within a quarter of a mile of this spot, the quaint little 
cross-roads village, that the ruins of White Marsh Church stand, 
with its moss-grown graves surrounding. As there is no marsh 
near, Talbot county being strangely free from even sea-marshes, 
it is not known why it was called the White Marsh Church, but- 
such is the name handed down. Of th is ancient church a strange 
and weird story is told, yet a true one. It was in 1711 that the 
Reverend Mr, Maynadier, a Huguenot, was the Eector of White 
Marsh. The rectory was an old brick mansion on a farm, a 
mile distant from the church, and the house still stands in ex- 
cellent repair, the property of Dr. Johns. The story is that the 
rector's wife died, and her last wish was that she should be 
buried with a valuable family ring upon her finger, for it was 
customary in those days to bury a body without removing jew- 
elry they had most worn in life. 

Two strangers who had attended the funeral had observed 
this valuable ring and determined to secure it that night, so they 
went to the old church yard, for it was then over half a century 
old, and digging into the grave, removed the coffin, broke it open 
and attempted to take the ring off the woman's finger. It would 
not come off, and so a knife was used to sever the joint, and this 
was the means, with the restoration to fresh, cool air, that re- 
vived the woman, who, not being dead, suddenly uttered a cry 
and sat up in her coffin. Tradition does not say what became 
of those two grave ghouls, but it is to be hoped that the fright 
they received turned them from their evil ways. 

As for Mrs. Maynadier, she realized the situation, and though 
alarmed and ill, she was possessed of great nerve, so drew her 
shroud about her form and started upon her homeward way. 
What must have been her feelings, as she trudged through the 
night to the home she had been taken from in her coffin a few 
hours before ! And what ivould have been the feelings of a be- 
nighted being who had met her on that lone highway ? Verily he 
could have taken oath with truth to having seen one from the grave. 
In the rectory the old clergyman was seated before his hearth 



86 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

alone, doubtless recalling the wife he had won in the long ago, 
far across the sea, and whom he had just buried in their adopted 
land. Sad must have been his memories, deep must have been 
his sorrow, as he sat there looking into the past and thinking of 
the loved one in the White Marsh burying- ground. 

Suddenly he was startled by a fall against the door, followed 
by a low moan. A fearless man, he sprung to the door and be- 
held the fainting, shrouded form of his wife. The sight nerved 
him to action and drove away fear. He raised her in his arms, 
bore her to her bed, gave her stimulants, chafed her hands, one 
still bleeding from the cruel cut of the ghoul, and soon restored 
her to consciousness. Then he called his servants, told them the 
weird story and sent to Oxford for a physician. 

Such is the story, and more, Mrs. Maynadier recovered from 
her illness and lived for many years. She and her brave old 
husband now lie side by side in the old White Marsh church- 
yard. It is alleged that the blood stain from Mrs. Maynadier's 
hand still remains upon the door against which she fell. The 
Jenkins family of Easton are descendants of Mrs. Maynadier, 
the heroine of this true story. 

That there are old houses in Talbot county visited by ' 'wan- 
dering spirits from the grave" there are some who really believe, 
and the negroes are particularly careful to avoid places where 
they may see what in the further south they call ''hants." Of 
one of the old houses on Peach Blossom, now owned by Mr. Chas. 
S. Carriugton of Easton, stories are told of its being "haunted," 
and with all due allowance for the noises made by prowling rats 
and sighing winds. The story goes that, away back beyond the 
memory of the present generation, a mother in the ancient house 
was wont to watch for the coming of her son by boat to Easton 
between midnight and dawn twice a month. 

To keep his mother from waiting up for him, as often the boat 
was very late, not arriving until after daylight at times, the du- 
tiful son told his mother he would not come at specified times, 
so she would not know when to expect him, and thus obtained 
her promise to retire and allow him to go to his room unwel- 
comed, for houses were seldom locked at night in those days. 
But the good woman knew that her son would come as before, 
and though she did not wait up, she retired one night but did 
not sleep. Often her son would bring a friend, his particular 



WEIRD TALES THAT ARE TOLD 87 

chuin in Baltimore, and so the mother always prepared supper 
enough for two and left it on the table , so they could slip into 
the house and, going to the dining room, have their meal and 
retire to sleep until late the next morning. 

One night, when the moon shone like day, the mother lay 
awake listening for her son. She knew the time the boat should 
arrive with a fair wind, and waited to hear her son enter the 
house. Time passed, ample for him to have gotten a horse and 
wagon at Easton to drive home. But he did not come, and the 
mother was growing anxious, when she heard the sound of com- 
ing wheels. Some distance from the house the sound ceased, and 
soon after a step was heard ; creeping to the window, the mother 
saw her son had come, but alone. She heard him enter the 
house, and, not going to the dining room, as was his wont, go 
directly to his room. 

Not wishing to let him think she was awake, she did not go to 
his room, and was dropping off to sleep when she heard a deep 
groan. Instantly she arose and, lamp in hand, went to her son's 
room, for surely he must be ill, she thought. She knocked at 
the door and again heard a low moan but no response. Enter- 
ing the room quickly in alarm, she found the lamp burning as 
she had left it and the bed undisturbed, but no one was there ! 
She went downstairs to the dining room and parlor but found no 
one ; her son's coat and hat were not in their accustomed place. 
"Surely I heard him come home, saw him approach the house," 
she cried: "My God, what does this mean 1 ?" At once she 
aroused the olher inmates of the house, and a thorough search 
Mas made — hut the young man was not there ! Nor was the 
horse in the stable, the negro man who slept there not having 
been disturbed. "Some harm has befallen my poor boy !" cried 
the mother, and in vain did those about her try to comfort her, 
for she repeated over and over again, "He is dead ! I feel it ! 
I know it, for I saw his ghost!" 

Those were not the days of telegraph and rapid mails, and 
when the next packet came it brought the dead body of the 
young master. He had been found slain in his room, robbed, 
and no clue to his assassin. His particular friend was away 
from Baltimore at the time ; and, strange to say, months after, 
word came that he had been shot in New Orleans in a gambling 
den. When the son's strong box in his room at home was open- 



88 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

ed, it was found that the family jewels and much gold were 
gone, and there were a few practical minds who said that the 
mother had not seen her son^ ghost, but his friend, who had 
murdered him, had gone to his room in his Talbot home, got the 
contents of the box and escaped. 

That is the way of looking at it in the broad glare of day, but 
at night, it is said, the ghost of the murdered master, who was 
buried near the old home, can be seen and heard by those whose 
sight and hearing admit of their ''seeing things." As for Mr. 
Carrington, ghosts do not disturb him, though he is fond of tell- 
ing weird stories, and tells them in a way that nearly inclines 
one to a belief in the supernatural. 

Upon the "Perry Hall" estate, the home of Mrs. Mary H. P. 
Cox, on Miles Eiver, there stands a massive old oak tree, the in- 
terior of which is hollow. The story goes that in the days of the 
Bevolution a young French officer who came over with Lafayette 
to aid in fighting our battles, fell in love with a Talbot maiden; 
and, unable to get leave of absence to visit her, deserted and 
came to her home. He was found out and proclaimed a deserter 
and, to escape the death penalty, fled; but his rival for the 
maiden's love got on his track and, tracing him to the old oak 
tree, found him concealed in its hollow. Instantly he was taken 
out, and the death sentence was read to him, his rival saying 
that he would immediately carry it out. 

' 'I did not leave my command from fear, but because love made 
me a fool. I am no coward, but appear so in the eyes of the one 
I loved ; hence, am ready to die ; and to you, Monsieur, I leave 
the one I so madly loved. I am ready." With these words, he 
took his stand against the old oak. The soldiers were drawn up 
before him, the word to fire was given by his rival, and the un- 
fortunate Frenchman fell dead. He was buried where he fell, 
and the tree is called "The Frenchman's Oak." At the head 
of his grave some one placed a stone bearing his name, but it 
has long since disappeared. The Frenchman's rival did not 
marry the maiden, however, for she would never again see him; 
and rumor has it that she died of a broken heart within a year 
after her lover's death, and was buried by his side. 

With such a real ghost story as the one of old White Marsh 
church-yard, which is looked upon to-day as being haunted, or 
as the negroes say, "the land of hants," Talbot naturally has 



WEIRD TALES THAT ARE TOI/D 89 

other tales of the supernatural and superstitious. One is that 
in the dim past a rich old man of Talbot, whose home still 
stands, left his fortune to his three sons in equal shares ; but the 
eldest, in the absence of his younger brothers, so changed the 
will that he was to get the lion's share, and also to hold the es- 
tate in his keeping. His plan went well with him until one 
night, a year after his father's death to the day, he was return- 
ing on foot with some friends from a long hunt after birds, and, 
to save time, being tired, decided to cut across a field and over a 
fence where his father had lost his life. The old man had died 
from the effects of a fall in getting over a fence, whicn the party 
of hunters would have to scale at the fatal spot. 

The family buryiug-ground was right at this very place, and 
the son did not care to pass where his father lay buried, after 
his act against his brothers. But with friends to accompany 
him he pushed on, and the three were suddenly brought to a 
halt when within a rod of the fence and old burying-ground. 
And no wonder, for there stood in their path a shrouded, misty 
form. The face was indistinctly visible, but the erring son knew 
it and stood in horror, trembling violently. Suddenly a voice 
was heard, cold, sepulchral, yet distinct : "My son, do not wrong 
your brothers, but do right by them as you hope for mercy when 
you die !" Then the white form turned, placed one hand upon 
the top rail of the fence and leaped over — a flash of fire and sul- 
phurous smoke bursting forth from where the fingers touched it. 

Another moment and the form leaped the wall of the burying- 
ground and disappeared among the trees that surrounded the 
old man's grave. The three men had seen the form, as also the 
Hash of the burning rail, though the latter felt sure that the 
ghost of the old man had come from a very hot place, and f iom 
the advice he gave his son about hoping for mercy could realize 
how it was himself. Whether it was a real ghost or one of the 
brothers, the next day the imprint of a hand was found burned 
on the rail. The ghost served its purpose, too, for the eldest 
brother hastened to the county Court-house the next day and 
"did the right thing by his brothers," so that he might "hope 
surely for mercy when he came to die." 

There is a well authenticated ghost story, which has the nov- 
elty of being more than the mere spirit of a human being re- 
turned to earth, for a horse and two- wheeled chaise are also seen. 



90 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




"NORTH BEND," RESIDENCE OF R. B. DIXON. 




ANOTHER VIEW OP '"NORTH BEND.' 



WEIRD TALES THAT ARE TOLD 91 

This treble ghostly alliance is of an old doctor who practiced 
here in Talbot many years and drove about in a two- wheeled ve- 
hicle of peculiar pattern drawn by an old white horse that suited 
the man and the trap. All knew the old doctor, his horse and 
chaise, and his calls took him far and wide through the country. 
But the doctor loved his toddy and was wont at times to get 
very merry, in other words, very drunk. But as long as he 
could stand up he would go, and he was considered a better phy- 
sician in his cups than others who were perfectly sober. 

One night the doctor was sent for in haste to see his best friend, 
who had accidentally shot himself. The doctor was drinking 
heavily at the time, it was a wretched night of storm, and he 
was in no hurry to go, at least until he had fortified himself with 
more drinks. It was a long drive, the roads were not the best, 
and in his semi-intoxication he went to sleep, lost his way, and 
the next day waa found far off the highway in vain trying to 
find himself and the home of his wounded friend. 

"Oh ! show me the way," he pleaded piteously of the neighbor 
who had found him. 

"No need now, doctor, for it is too late," was the answer. 

"Too late? Too late?" 

"Yes, doctor, for I just came from there, and he died two 
hours ago, bled to death. You could have saved him had you 
arrived last night," was the stern response. 

"I could have saved him V 7 

"Yes." 

"Show ine the way." 

"No need now, doctor, but that path will take you to your 
own house, if you will give your horse his head," and the man 
rode on. 

That was the last ever seen of the old doctor alive, for he was 
found later in the day dead in the wreck of his old chaise, and 
with his horse also dead, for a bridge across a creek had gone 
down with them. The doctor and horse had been killed and the 
vehicle wrecked. The ashes of the old man of medicine lie in 
the old White Marsh burying-ground, surrounded by the graves 
of those whose bodies he cured of aches and fevers, and yet the 
inscription, "Best his soul," does not appear to have had its 
effect. Tradition has it that belated people who travel the high- 
way where he met his death, on each anniversary of the night 



92 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

on which he was killed, hear the hoofs of the old horse coming 
rapidly np behind them, hear the rattle of the old snlky, and 
can see the misty outline as the spectres come close, but never 
pause, while also a pleading voice is heard, crying : "Show me 
the way ! Show me the way !" I have never seen the phantom 
nor heard the appealing entreaty, but I know where the high- 
way is, and have stood by the old doctor's grave, whom I found 
to all intents and purposes resting well. 

There is still another weird legend known as "the ghost of 
Plaindealing." Now, "Plaindealing" is the name of an ancient 
estate and also an arm of the Avon Eiver, called here a creek, 
though it is wide and deep enough for steamers to ascend. It is 
very broad, and its head is near the village of Royal Oak. The 
name was given the creek hj the Indians, who met on its banks 
a party of Friends to trade with them pelts, deer skins and 
things of their manufacture for those that the white men had 
brought from the Old World. As the Friends in trade always 
dealt honestly with the Indians, the latter gave to the spot the 
name of Plaindealing.* 

A part of the old homestead of Plaindealing still remains, 
though a fine brick building, that also dates far back, has re- 
placed the greater part of the mansion first built. Here, in the 
legendary part, the owner kept up a stately and hospitable style 
that was famed far and wide, for he lived as he had in the old 
country, being "to the manor born." Through some tragic 
chance, for a dark mystery hangs over the affair, the owner of 
the mansion fell, it is said, from the upper story over the carved 
railing in the hall, breaking his neck and leaving a stain of blood 
on the floor which ages have never erased. 

After his death, the house, through neglect, began to go to 
wreck. Its handsome panelling and carving begun to decay, its 
walls to become moss-grown, its spreading roof to show its age, 
The old furniture became covered with dust, the old portraits of 
well-born men and women in powdered wigs and cue were stained 
and mouldy, while from the wet cellar came the air as from a 
tomb. The family burying-ground, just across the lawn upon 
the banks of the creek, grew up dense and dank with weeds and 



*A stone now marts the spot, and stands at the very edge of the water of the creek, 
just where the Indians in tneir canoes landed to trade with the white men. 



WEIRD TALES THAT ARE TOLD 93 

trees, while the vaults cracked open and revealed their ghostly 
occupants to the inquisitive one who ventured near. 

It was the ideal spot for spooks to haunt, while to enhance the 
dismalness of the old abode, it became the dwelling place of an 
old woman known as "Katie Coburn, the Witch." This 
"witch," the last of her kind known in Talbot, was old, deformed, 
hideous, and was guilty of diabolical ways and impish incanta- 
tions to make herself feared. That she was dreaded by all, es- 
pecially the children and negroes, there was no doubt, for the 
former were kepi out of mischief by being threatened with her, 
and the latter felt that the sight of her was a hoodoo upon them. 
The negroes accordingly gave Witch Katie a very wide margin 
of room when they met her, and wore charms to counteract her 
spells, the "left hind foot of a rabbit, killed at the dark of the 
moon," doubtless being in great demand after a meeting with 
the "Witch of Plaindealing." 

Not far from Plaindealing there lived a farmer whose cows 
pastured near the old burying-^round. One afternoon the boy 
whose duty it was to drive the cows home had to go near the 
lonely spot, and beheld to his amazement a stranger there ; — a 
man tall, stately, in the ancient garb like that worn by those 
whose portraits were in the deserted mansion. The man spoke 
to the boy, but the latter fled for home, told his story, and it was 
not believed. Again he saw the same man, and again, until at 
last he spoke to him, and for response saw him walk to a certain 
spot in the burying- ground and point downward, at the same 
time stamping his foot. This same performance was gone 
through with several evenings after, between the boy and the si- 
lent spectre in quaint old time costume. 

On one occasion the spectre led the boy, now 1:0 longer afraid 
of him, into the old home' and pointed to a portrait on the wall. 
The boy saw that the "ghost" was strangely like the portrait, 
dress and all. Then he was led back to the grave yard and the 
spectre pointed downward and stamped his foot, as before. As 
it was growing dark, and the cows had gone on ahead, the boy 
suddenly decided to go home, and he lost no time in doing so, 
his parents again laughing at his slory. But then came the ru- 
mor that "Witch Katie" had not only disappeared from Plain- 
dealing, but also from the country. The boy had not seen her 
since the coming of the quaint man of the grave-yard. At last 



94 WEIRD TALES THAT ARE TOLD 

so impressed were the parents of the boy with his story of his 
ancient ghost, seen in the gloaming each day, and now become 
the talk of the neighborhood, that the father went one evening 
at sunset to have a look at the spectre. 

"There he is, father, see, he has gone to the same spot and is 
pointing to the ground !" cried the boy. But what the boy saw 
the man could not, yet was impressed by the look and manner of 
his son, and said, "Well, my son, we will see what your ghost 
is pointing out to us." That this intention was carried out, and 
more, that digging there, a treasure of some kind was found, 
there is not the slightest doubt, for curious neighbors, visiting 
the grave-yard some days later, found a deep hole there, freshly 
dug, and in it the imprint of a box that had been buried. 

Of the quaint ghost that appeared in the gloaming nothing 
more was heard, and the family of the boy to whom the spectre 
had revealed himself certainly grew suddenly rich. The le- 
gend goes that they belonged to a noble family in England, had 
been defrauded of their inheritance, and so came to America to 
seek a home, and this ghost of one of their ancestors had enriched 
them by pointing out the buried treasure, making his presence 
visible alone to the boy. 

Such are a few of Talbot's ghost stories, all bearing the im- 
print of truth ; while there are others, ad infinitum, not quite so 
well vouched for as those I have retold, but which I will not 
relate, for be it known that this is a narrative of legendary real- 
ities, not of fiction. 



CHAPTEE XVII. 

MAEYLAND IN YE OLDEN TIME. 




-HE seed of Quakerism and Wesleyanisrn 
certainly fell upon and took firm root in 
genial ami kindly soil in these old coun- 
ties of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, 
softening society from its aristocratic 
harshness and too much pride of ances- 
try, and bringing it in consonance with 
the beautiful scenery that is to be found 
here on every hand. The towns are more 
characteristic of the dim past than are 
those upon the other shore of the Chesa- 
peake, and elsewhere in the early settlements of the northern 
parts of the United States. The sun-set and twilight of to-day 
seem of the misty by-gone, in their exquisite softness and splen- 
dor, and the people are, many of them, in keeping with their old 
homes, though just now, they are awakening to the possibilities 
of what a land of promise they possess. 

The people generally retain also a purity of English blood, 
and their language at times partakes much of "old English." 
There are dwellers upon the Choptank, Avon, Miles, Wye and 
Chesapeake shores of Talbot, that have their old homes, come 
down to them from generation after generation for over two 
hundred years; and who can trace their families as far back in 
England before their American ancestor came to this country. 
Indelibly written in the pages of the history of the Eastern 
Shore of Maryland, and particularly of Talbot county, we find 
names that we greet each day as the descendants of worthy an 
cestry. Men and women of these names we meet every day in 
business life and society, and to the people of Talbot, the names 
of any one tells the story of who and what their ancestors were, 
and how well they are upholding the honored reputation of their 
forefathers. If there are closet skeletons in the past history of 
any one of their ancestry, the mantle of charity is kindly drawn 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



Residence of J, Harry Ratcliffe, St. Michaels, 
site and part of the building- where meetings 
were held by Methodists as early as ins. 














House in st. Michaels struck by cannon ball 
from British fleet in 1813. 




PASTORAL VIEW ON THE AVON. 



MARYLAND IN YE OLDEN TIME 97 

over the remembrance ; while if there are any good stories to tell 
of any of the ancient regime, they are told with great gusto, even 
if against themselves. And more, they are generally good story 
tellers; and if of English descent, even, can see a joke at a flash, 
not having to wait until it is moss-grown before they can catch 
the point. 

Eeferring to some of these old families, it will be well to see 
just how far back they can go in tracing their American lineage. 
In the past more than now they were wont to intermarry amon^ 
their particular set, the result being that there is a blood kin- 
ship and connection by marriage among a legion of good folks, 
some young men of to-day being so fortunate as to count their 
pretty cousins by the score ; and, be it known, that cousins count 
here, even unto the fourth and fifth remove. It is interesting to 
note from the name of the Eastern Shore people, their lineage 
from English, Irish, Scotch, Dutch, German, Welsh, Swedes 
and Danes, and an old timer can tell to just what nationality 
one originally belonged, by hearing him named. Some of these 
names have been metamorphosed, a few dropping a consonant or 
two, or a syllable even, while there have been those of one coun- 
try merged into another or blended together, just as have the 
descendants of the several nationalities intermarried . All this 
may be owing to the meagre education in the earlier days, when 
even some of the clergy could read and write but fairly well, and 
not unfrequently the Justices appointed made their mark instead 
of their name, for the simple reason that they could make a cross 
mark but not a letter. Perhaps after all it was often better to 
know too little than too much, as is now the case when learning 
penetrates all barriers, shatters all idols, tramples all traditions 
under foot, often crushing our happiness under the iron heel of 
adamantine investigation and destroying our fondest illusions. 

From whatever race they sprung, those early settlers of Mary- 
land — whatever their creed or condition in life, whether descended 
from aristocrat or redemptioner — the brave soldiers from the 
shores of the Chesapeake won immortal renown in their patriotic 
and military record during the long struggle of the Revolutionary 
War. It was the daring Maryland Regiment of Pour Hundred 
that saved the American army in the retreat from Long Island, 
and glad they were to throw themselves into the breach as a 
sacrifice, if need be, to check the British advance, while Wash 



98 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

ington's army crossed to the mainland. Washington knew the 
material of which the Marylanders were made, and with the 
American army on the very verge of a panic and ront, he called 
upon the men from the Chesapeake's shores to come to the res- 
cue, and he called not in vain . Nobly the gallant Four Hundred 
responded, and they were hurled upon the advance of Cornwal- 
lis with irresistible fury and esprit. What mattered it that their 
ranks were torn with iron hail, that they fell by scores to rise 
no more, for they were of the stuff of which heroes are made, 
and with "do or die" as their motto, their thinned ranks closed 
up shoulder to shoulder as the iron storm swept them, and they 
beat back the British and thus enabled the American army to 
make good its retreat. Yet at what a sacrifice ! The death call 
numbered twelve officers and 260 men of the Four Hundred 
Marylanders.* 

Pursuing the even tenor of its way since its early settlement, 
Talbot County has had citizens whose names have become known 
throughout the country ; in fact, Maryland may be called the 
cradle of men born to greatness. At the head of these famous 
sons can be said to come the name of Colonel Tench Tilghman, a 
man who won his spurs in the Kevolutionary War, and whose 
character throughout was that of a hero. A book about Talbot 
would be incomplete without a just tribute to those of her sons 
who brought honor to their State, and hence [short sketches of 
some of them I place before the reader. It is true that the peo- 
ple of the present age do not delve much into the story of worthy 
citizens of thepast, and but for the Civil War that brought he- 
roes to the front, and won from the country just recognition, 
thereby recalling other great men in our other wars, and in 
statesmanship, many of those of the dim bygone would sleep now 
in graves unmarked — yes, "unmarked, unhonored and unknown." 
The grave of Franklin in Philadelphia has but a simple slab, 
and is unknown to the thousands of people who pass it daily in 
their going to and fro. Sentiment appears to be relegated to the 
past in the busy whirl of life in this age, though certainly it 
should not be so. 



*In 1S95 a monumental pillar was erected in Prospect Park. Brooklyn, in honor of the 
Marylanders who made this magnificent charge. It may he well to state here that in the 
late Civil War upon any held, whether tney wore the Blue or the Gray uniform. Mary- 
landers made a glorious record as soldiers. 



MARYLAND IN YE OLDEN TIME W9 

But to return to the worthy citizens whose memory is still 
green in Talbot, and who may be set down as Maryland's notable 
men. Tench Tilghman was born on December 25th, 1744. at 
"Fausley", his father's plantation, situated upon a branch of 
St. Michaels Elver, near Easton. He was one of a family of 
twelve — six sons and six daughters — for there were generous old 
families in those days, even among the rich ; and to a certain ex- 
tent Talbot keeps up with her record as productive of prolific 
families. Tench Tilghman was the eldest of six sons, and of his 
early education little is known further than that he attended 
school in Easton, and was also under the charge, with his broth- 
ers and sisters, of a private tutor. Later his maternal grandfa- 
ther, Tench Francis, for whom he was named, obtained for him 
the advantages of the best schools, and also influenced him to 
enter upon a business career in Philadelphia. 

He was thus engaged at the breaking out of the War of the 
Revolution, and at once sacrificed his business interests for love 
of country, entering the army as a Lieutenant of Light Infantry. 
He was Lieutenant of the Military Commission appointed to 
treat with the "Six Nations" ; Mohawks, Oneidas and other 
tribes, and his report is published in the American Army Rec- 
ords. Recognizing his ability as an able ally, a man of quick per- 
ceptions and nerve, Washington appointed Tench Tilghman one 
of his military family; and later, in addition to being his aide-de- 
camp, he became the Commander-in-Chief's confidential secret- 
ary. The military record of Col. Tilghman is a matter of histo- 
ry, and his brilliant services gained for him the honor of carry- 
ing to Philadelphia, to Congress, the report of the surrender of 
Cornwallis at Yorktown. He made the long ride in four days, 
arrived at midnight and told the glad tidings, and by dawn the 
town was wild with joy. Congress later voted him a fully 
equipped charger and a sword, the latter now being in the pos- 
session of his great-grandson, Col. Oswald Tilghman, of Easton, 
with many other souvenirs and important letters and documents. 
In 1779 Col. Tilghman visited his uncle, Hon. Matthew Tilgh- 
man, of Rich Feck Farm in Talbot, and there met his cousin, 
Miss Anna Maria Tilghman, who became his wife several years 
later. At the close of the war Col. Tilghman entered into a 
business partnership with Robert Morris, known as the Finan- 
cier of the Revolution, and assumed control of the firm's bus 

L.ofC. 



100 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

iness in Baltimore, where lie died (when still a young man) in 
1786, his wile surviving him a great many years. 

Hon. Edward Lloyd, a distinguished leader in the Puritan 
Colony from Virginia to Maryland, 1649, was born on Wye Biver, 
Wales. He was a Land Surveyor, and was made First Com- 
mander of Anne Arundel County in 1668. With many others 
he moved to Talbot, patented a large land estate on the Wye, 
and returning to London in 1668, died there, leaving his son the 
property known now as Wye House. Edward Lloyd was born 
in 1697 at "Wye House," Talbot, and was descended from Ed ward 
Lloyd the first of his name in America. Edward Lloyd married 
Sarah Covington. His grandson married Elizabeth Tayloe, 
and their son is the subject of this memoir. He was a member 
of the Ninth and Tenth Congress of the United States, Governor 
of Maryland 1809 to 1811, and served as United States Senator 
1819 to 1826. He married, 1797, Sally Scott Murray. He died 
in 1834. 

Hon. Matthew Tilghman was born at ^The Hermitage," the 
first seat of his family in Maryland, He inherited large estates 
in Bayside. He was a member of the Maryland Legislature from 
1751 to the breaking out of the War of the Eevolution. His 
public career was so constant and exalted for many years, he be- 
came known as the "latriarch of Maryland' 7 . In 1783 he re- 
tired to private life on his estate at Tilghman's Point, where he 
died and is buried. 







CHAPTEE XVIII. 

SOME TALBOT WORTHIES OF COLONIAL DAYS. 

X EEVIEWIXG the history of Tal- 
bot's people, we find among them 
many who are historically linked 
KX with this land of yesterday and to- 
day. It would be my wish to dwell 
with considerable length upon the 
biographical sketches of those men 
of the past, but it is impossible in 
a work of this kind to write down 
of them other than data in a most condensed form. There is 
one of those men of long ago who deserves more than passing- 
notice, for Talbot owes much to him as its chronicler, and who 
became far-famed as the "Historian of Maryland," John Leeds 
Bozman. He was born in 1757 at "Belleville," near Oxford, 
and came from a distinguished family. After obtaining his ma- 
jority he was sent to England to study law, and returning home, 
was admitted to the bar, but eventually turned to a literary ca- 
reer; yet his pen fame dues not depend upon his sketches, poems 
or newspaper articles, but upon his '-History of Maryland," a 
work which is a monument to his memory. Mr. Boznian's life- 
work was broken in upon by ill-health, and he died at his home 
"Belleville," where his remains lie buried unmarked by epitaph. 
The grandfather of Hon. William Hindman came to America, 
sent by the Bishop of London to a parish in Talbot, for he was a 
clergyman of the Church of England. He died several years 
after his arrival, leaving a family, the son, Jacob, being the fa- 
ther of William, his mother being a Miss Trippe, daughter of a 
prominent Dorchester county family It was at "Kirkham," 
the home on Miles River, that William Hindman was born, as 
were also his brothers and sisters, heirs to the estate of their 
father, which is now known as "Perry Hall." James, one 
son, was a gallant officer in the Revolution, and lived till 1830. 
Jacob became a clergyman, and was at one time Rector of St. 



102 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

Peter's, better known as the old White Marsh Church. John 
entered the American army and reached a Colonel's rank. From 
him descended Col. James Hindman, a prominent officer of the 
regular army in the war of 1812. 

William Hindman was educated under the care of a tutor at 
home, then sent to London to study law. Beturning, he was 
admitted to the bar in 1765. Though a lawyer, he was also a 
planter, and begun to enter into the public life of the Eastern 
Shore, his ability soon making him a leader. He became a State 
Senator in 1777, and after years of service was elected delegate 
to Congress in 1784. Later he held other more important offices 
and in all won distinction for himself. At his death he set his 
slaves free, an act that did not benefit them much, as they be- 
came a worthless lot, and " Hindman 's negroes" were known and 
dreaded, while land in their neighborhood depreciated greatly. 

Hon. John Dickinson was a wise statesman and Bevoluionary 
patriot of Talbot, and deserves to be ranked among the most 
distinguished men of the age in which he lived. The importance 
of ancestral trees is not overlooked in Talbot, and hence we can 
trace back even the humble members of a family, and especially 
those who have written their names upon the scroll of fame. 
In 1653 about, the Dickinson brothers, three in number, of a 
prominent English family, came to America, Walter Dickinson 
settling in Talbot. William Dickinson, son of Walter, married 
the daughter of Howell Powell, a wealthy member of the Society 
of Friends, and their son, Samuel, married Judith North, a Qua- 
keress, but it was his second wife, Mary, of Philadelphia, that 
was the mother of the subject of this sketch. The fame of Hon. 
John Dickinson is too well known to need further comment here, 
for his record has been inscribed most faithfully upon the pages 
of the history of his times. 

Col. Jeremiah Banning was a sailor, who also bore a military 
title. A native of Talbot, he was the son of James Banning, who 
died, leaving a widow and several children. The widow later 
married Mr. Nicholas Goldsborough, who, having no children, 
made those of his wife legal heirs, and they, Jeremiah, Anthony 
and Henry, all rose to prominence. Anthony removed to Ches- 
tertown ; Henry became a Judge of the Talbot Court, and was a 
captain in the war of the Bevolution ; while Jeremiah became a 
merchant sailor, making many voyages to foreign ports. After a 



SOME TALBOT WORTHIES OF COLONIAL DATS 103 

long voyage he entered upon a mercantile life in Oxford. In 
1752 he sailed for London. It was upon his return from the 
Barbadoes that Mr. Banning learned of the defeat and death 
of Braddock by the French and Indians. A voyage was then 
made to Lisbon, with Sir Harry Franklin, and Mr. Banning ar- 
rived there to find the place almost destroyed by an earthquake, 
and that thousands of lives had been lost. In 1760 he sailed again 
for Barbadoes on the ship Friendship, with others, convoyed by 
two sloops of war. Caught in a hurricane, one of the sloops 
went down under the stern of the Friendship with all hands, 
and next day a French privateer attacked the fleet and a despe- 
rate battle was fought, the Frenchman escaping. In 1761 Mr. 
Banning was made captain of the Friendship, and was after- 
ward captured by a French vessel of war. After imprisonment, 
exchange and many adventures, Captain Banning again reached 
home, but 10 sail soon after for London, to be captured again 
by the French. He was soon recaptured by a British cruiser just 
before reaching port, where prison awaited him and his crew. 
Narrowly escaping in Lisbon from becoming a victim of the In- 
quisition, Captain Banning sailed in the British ship of war Port- 
land and reached London in safety, sailing thence to New York 
and back again to London, then in 1766 to the Chesapeake, ar- 
riving home once more and saluting the port of Oxford with 
seven gnns. 

He brought on the same shipHood, the "Stamp Master," 
from London commissioned to enforce the Stamp Act in Mary- 
land. Hood barely escaped from Oxford with his life to An- 
napolis, thence to New York and then back to England. It 
was unknown to Captain Banning that the passenger bore such 
an odious reputation. In 1768 Captain Banning took command 
of the ship Pearl and made several long voyages, but was in 1773 
made agent of a London house for the Eastern Shore. When 
the war with England began, Captain Banning was made an 
officer of a regiment of militia and was also appointed assessor, 
and it is of interest here to say that James Denny of Talbot was 
the first man assessed in Maryland. In 1776 Mr. Banning was 
appointed major of a battalion and also became a magistrate, 
holding the latter position until 1778. In 1777 he was selected 
colonel of a militia regiment and also naval officer of the port of 
Oxford, and next received the appointment of collector from 



104 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

George Washington, then President of the United States. In 
April, 1788. he was elected chairman of a delegation of four 
chosen to represent Talbot County in a general convention to be 
held at Annapolis "to ratify and confirm the Federal Govern- 
ment as now established of the United States." This proof of 
his country's confidence and approbation was (to use his own 
words) "perhaps the most pleasing circumstance in his life." 
The other deputies from Talbot County referred to were Hon. 
Robert Goldsborough, Hon. Edward Lloyd and Mr. John Ste- 
vens. In 1785 he laid out the town of Easton and named its 
streets. He died in 1798, full of honors and years, at his coun- 
try home, "The Isthmus," now the Easter property, and there 
he is buried, though no stone marks his grave. Mr. Banning's 
second son, Freeborn, born 1777, entered the British Navy, liter 
that of the United States as a lieutenant, served under Captain 
Henry Geddes, whose daughter he married, and his home on the 
Avon is now occupied by his grandson, James Latimer Banning. 

Robert Morris, of Oxford, and who lies buried at the old White 
Marsh Church, was the merchant prince of his time. Born in 
England, he made Maryland his home and built up in Oxford an 
enormous business, owning a fleet of merchant ships that sailed 
the world over. As a mercantile genius Robert Morris was a 
marvel, as a friend true as steel, as a bon vivant incomparable, 
while he was generous to a fault. He was the first to introduce 
the keeping of accounts in money instead of in tobacco, powder, 
etc. The manner of his sad taking off in the very prime of life 
has already been told, but a touching incident of his death is- 
that his favorite spaniel would not leave his master's side in his 
last illness, and when he died, lay beneath his coffin. When 
the body was to be borne to the grave, it was found that the 
faithful animal was also dead. The great Financier of the Rev- 
olution, his namesake and heir, was the son of Robert Morris of 
Oxford. 

Mr. John Goldsborough was the son of the first Robert Golds- 
borough of "Ash by," on the Miles ; born Oct. 12th, 1711, died 
1783, was a member of the General Assembly, High Sheriff and 
Justice of the Peace. 

William Perry was born Aug. 24th, 1746, of well-known En- 
glish ancestry, was educated in England, married Elizabeth, 
daughter of Jacob Hindman of "Kirkham," now known as Perry 



LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 



105 




CHRIST P. E. CHURCH AND EASTON PRIMARY SCHOOL. 




EASTON HIGH AND MANUAL TRAINING SCHOOL. 



106 JLAND OF LH6BNDARY LORE 

Hall and still in the possession of a descendant, Mrs. Mary H. 
P. Cox. Perry Hall became the home of William Perry, taking 
his name, and is one of the finest mansions of the olden time. A 
planter of wealth, Mr. Perry also held exalted positions of trust 
under the Government, was an active and devoted patriot through 
the war of the Revolution , and at its close was chosen State Sen- 
ator, then Judge. While President of the Senate he died in 
1799, and was buried with great pomp at Annapolis, in St. 
Anne's church-yard, where his grave is unmarked. 

General James Lloyd Ohamberlaine dwelt at ' 'Peach Blossom, ' ' 
an estate he got through his marriage with Miss Robins, at that 
time Talbot's richest heiress. He espoused the cause of the Col- 
onies against England and was made a brigadier general of the 
Maryland line, serving with great honor to himself and his state. 

Away back in 1669 there settled upon Poplar Island, Talbot 
County, a man and his wife whose name is written down in the 
old records in the Easton Court House as Alexander D'Hyniossa. 
Hinojosa, DeOnisissa, Inniosa, Injossa, D'Hinojosa. But what's 
in a name, especially when the old-time scribes were not as par- 
ticular about spelling as have to be those of the present. Marga- 
retta was the name of this man's wife, and there were born to 
them on Poplar Island children, seven in number. The master 
and his wife humbly petitioned the Province of Maryland in 
1671 for "naturalization papers," and they were granted. This 
man, Alexander D'Hinojosa, often appears on the Court Records, 
spell his name as they might, and to the general public of that 
day he was known only as the tobacco planter of Poplar Island, 
but he was a man with a history, as will be shown. Though 
living a life of quiet ease with his family upon a lonely island for 
years, Alexander D'Hinojosa had enjoyed a most eventful career 
as a soldier, statesman, Governor of a Province and political ex- 
ile. It was in defence of Delaware that he sacrificed his home, 
fortune and position, and that State may yet erect a monument 
to its last Dutch Governor, when it was a province of the New 
Netherlands, as all the settlements of the Hollanders in America 
were then called. It was in 1656 that Alexander D'Hinojosa 
was chosen to command the military of the new Dutch colony in 
Delaware, he having distinguished himself as an officer in Hol- 
land, and later been under service in Brazil. The worthy there- 
fore bore the following commission : 



SOME TALBOT WORTHIES OP COLONIAL DAYS 107 

"The * * * * * regents of the city of Amsterdam having re- 
solved to send a company of soldiers to their colonies in New 
Netherlands, the name of Alexander D'Hinojosa was proposed 
to them ; and they, on the good report rendered them of the fit- 
ness and fidelity of said D'Hinojosa, have appointed and com- 
missioned him as their lieutenant, to command in good corre- 
spondence and nnity, and wherefore we order all officers and 
soldiers to obey him, for such is their Worship's pleasure. In 
witness whereof the seal of the said city is affixed hereunto tenth 
of December 1656. Having besides a seal impressed in green 
wax (Signed) J. Parver." 

The expedition set out for New York, and Lieutenant D'Hin- 
ojosa marched by land to a fort now the site of the town of New 
Castle, Del., arriving May 1st, 1657. From the first D'Hinojosa 
took an active part, for in 1658 he was sent to New York to rep- 
resent the Council, in 1659 was made First Councillor, then Cap- 
tain Lieutenant, and the same year was selected to visit the Fa- 
therland to represent the needs of the Colony, In 1660 he was 
made Governor of the Delaware Province. In 1664, as the Duke 
of York was given by Charles II., whose brother he was, territory 
that did not belong to England, viz., all lands between the Hud- 
son and Delaware Bay, Col. Nichols with a fleet was sent to take 
possession. Governor D'Hinojosa hastened to place at the dis- 
posal of Peter Stuyvesant, in New York, "5000 lbs. of powder 
and all necessaries and all his people." His offer was declined. 
Peter Stuyvesant surrendered. The English fleet then visited 
the Delaware, and D'Hinojosa, deserted by his people, refused 
to surrender the fort, and it was stormed and taken by the Brit- 
ish, the Duke of York getting his share of the plunder, which 
was very large. D'Hinojosa was the only Dutch commander 
who made a stout resistance to the English, and he surrendered 
only after half his garrison had fallen. D'Hinojosa was banish- 
ed, and it was then he found refuge in Maryland, for his es- 
tates had been taken, his property given to his enemies, his 
negroes traded off and his faithful soldiers even sold into slavery. 
Seeking a home on Poplar Island, D'Hinojosa lived there for 
many years, but returning to Holland, died there, and what be- 
came of his family is not known, no mention being made of them 
after 1698. 

Wenlock Christison, the "Quaker Confessor," as he was 



108 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

called, lived in the hard reckoning; days of long ago, among 
those who did not agree in religion. There was bitter persecu- 
tion in foreign lands of men of differing creeds, and when that 
feeling of hate toward those who thought they had the power to 
force a man along the highway to Heaven or Hades, alluding to 
their mode of worship, was transplanted to the new world, it be- 
came even more vindictive than it had been across the water. 
These persecutions were particularly bitter in New England 
against the Quakers, for the Puritans, serving God by rules, not 
ordained by the Almighty but by rules they themselves had 
made, allowed no man to think differently or worship according 
to the dictates of his conscience. Thinking, or pretending to 
think, that they enlarged the bounds of their own creed by 
damning that of others, the Puritans were determined that those 
who called themselves Friends would not abide among them, 
even claiming that they were no more than heretics. In Vir 
ginia, too, the laws against the Puritans were severe, and it was 
a Godsend to the Society of Friends when Maryland was thrown 
open to them as a home of refuge. Among those who sought an 
abiding place here was Wenlock Christison. 

The records of the Talbot Court and those of the Friends 
themselves show not a single case of persecution visited upon 
these people here, and hence Wenlock Christison found his lines 
cast in pleasant places when he came, an exile from Massachu- 
setts after he had narrowly escaped execution there and did re- 
ceive a public whipping. Such a man, one of influence, ability 
and whose persecutions had made him a martyr, naturally be- 
came a leader of his sect in Talbot, and his name often appears 
upon the old records of the Friends' Meetings here. The records 
of the Avon River Meeting-house of Friends are the earliest, 
most complete and exact of any relating to this county, and in 
going over them carefully, (through the courtesy of Mr. Robert 
B. Dixon I had access to them) I was struck with the thorough 
ness of every detail from the first to the last record. The first 
record begins: "At our men's meeting at Wenlock Christison's, 
the 24th of the First month, 1676,he, undaunted by threats of 
death and the hanging of his fellow Friends, Wenlock Christison 
defied his persecutors, and was therefore brought to trial for his 
religion and sentenced to death, where he uttered the remark- 
able words : 



SOME TALBOT WORTHIES OF COLONIAL DATS 109 

"The God doth justify me! Who art thou that condemnest?" 

So near death did Werdock approach that "his grave clothes 
were made for him." At the last moment he was pardoned by 
the King, who sent a messenger over in a special ship for the 
purpose; and with twenty-seven others of his Society, was set 
free, but not until Wenlock and several of the leaders were strip- 
ped to the waist and whipped through the town of Boston. Thus 
it was that Wenlock Cristison came to Talbot, and became a 
farmer, his home being the land upon which now stands "Wood- 
stock." There, in the old brick house, still standing, he lived 
and died •, and his ashes rest in an unmarked grave, though until 
his death, he was as a "shining light unto his people." 

Hon. John Bozman Kerr was of Scotch descent, his grand- 
father settling in Talbot, in 1769. John Bozman Kerr was born 
in Easton in 1809. Was educated at Easton Academy ; was 
matriculated at Harvard College. Studied law and was admit- 
ted to the Bar in 1833 ; and later entered upon a literary career, 
delving into history and becoming a noted authority upon his- 
torical research in Maryland. He also took a leading part in 
politics, and did much for the advancement of the schools. In 
1849, he was sent to the United States Congress, where he be- 
came a most useful representative of his District ; but was later 
appointed Charge d'affaires at Bogota, New Grenada, by Piesi- 
dent Fillmore, but declining the appointment, he was made resi- 
dent Minister to Nicaragua, and the Central American States. 
After a brilliant record as a Minister, he entered upon the prac- 
tice of law at St. Michaels. In '62, he was appointed a solicitor 
to the Court oi Claims, and in '69 made Sixth Auditor of the 
United States Treasury. He died in 1878. 

General Perry Benson was one of Talbot's great men of long 
ago, having won the titles of Captain in the regular Continental 
Army and Major-General of Volunteers in the Maryland Stare 
troops, while the services he rendered are remembeied with 
pride and gratitude by the people of the Eastern Shore. 

General Benson descended from a family that settled in Talbot 
two hundred years ago, taking up land on the St. Michaels river 
near Boyal Oak, and the Benson property became known as 
" Wheatlands." There the ancestors of Gen. Benson are buried, 
and he also lies among them. Born in 1757, Perry Benson 
passed his youth at Wheatlands ; he early became a "Minute 



110 



LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 




"FOLLY," HOME OF MR. ZENUS BURNS, MILES RIVER, 





i„__*j* 


.■rl --^.. 


3HBL- tjf^v *• fS-* 


* , 


'»'ii iJHtt . " • . ^B> f .T "BPfc 


■* £5*%* 





THRESHING SCENE NEAR SKIPTON ON MR. JACOB GANNON'S FARM. 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LOBE 111 

Mau," as they called the Maryland soldiers who were organ- 
ized to protect their homes. Of the Talbot company organized 
in 1776, Greenbury Goldsborongh was Captain; Woolman Gib- 
son, First Lieutenant; John Thomas, Second Lieutenant; Perry 
Benson, Ensign. Later he joined Washington's Army and be- 
came an officer in what was known as the "Flying Camp." 
His command was in the battles about New York and Philadel- 
phia and in Jersey, and for his gallantry he was madea Captain. 
At the battle of Brandy wine, he was wounded while assisting 
General Lafayette from the field. 

The Maryland troops being dispatched South in 1780, Captain 
Benson saw hard service and his command won an enviable rep- 
utation, and the subject of this sketch greatly distinguished 
himself at the battle of the Cowpens, and in leading a charge on 
Fort Mnety Six in South Carolina. Here he fell terribly wound- 
ed, and was borne from the field under a heavy fire, on the shoul- 
ders of a colored man , Thomas Carney, of Maryland. For ne- 
groes had been enlisted in the army, and brave soldiers they 
made, too, as the records show. Thomas Carney was a man of 
herculean size and not only carried Captain Benson off the field, 
but his own musket as well, fainting from the heat as he placed 
his wounded officer down before the surgeon. Quickly recover- 
ing, the gallant colored soldier returned to the field to aid other 
wounded men. 

After the war, Perry Benson was appointed a Lieutenant Col- 
onel of State troops, in Talbot county, in 1794, aid in 1798, 
when war with France was threatening, he did much to stimu- 
late the military ardor of the citizens. When war with England 
came in 1812, Perry Benson was made a Brigadier General of 
Maryland State troops, later a Major General, and all through 
those stirring times on the Chesapeake Shores, he rendered 
most valuable services to his State, and in the attack on St Mich- 
aels, near his home, was the ruling spirit. 

At the close of the war, he retired to his home full of honors, 
bravely won, and died at ' • Wheatlands" in October, 1827, leav- 
ing many connected with him by kindred ties. His grave is at 
"Wheatlands," and is marked as it certainly should be, by a 
monument worthy of the man and his record as a brave soldier. 

Dr. Ennals Martin belonged to a family that came to Talbot 
about the middle of the seventeenth century. Thomas Martin, 



112 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




RAILROAD BRIDGE OVER THE CHOPTANK RIVER'AND MARSHES. 




STRANDED ON THE BAY SHORE. 



SOME TALBOT WORTHIES OF COLONIAL DAYS 118 

the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, having settled at 
"Hampton," on Island Creek. Dr. Eunals was born at "Hamp- 
ton" iu 1758. He was sent north to get his education, studied 
medicine in Philadelphia, and through his medical preceptor 
Dr. Shippeu, was appointed director of the medical corps at 
Washington. He entered the army as Surgeon's Mate, receiv- 
ing his commission in 1777 

Later, a hard student and devoted to his profession, he was 
made an Assistant Surgeon though still very young. After the 
surrender of Yorktown, he resigned, and for his services, Mary- 
land voted him about $2500. Offered many inducements to set- 
tle at Philadelphia, he declined and took up his residence in 
Easton, and actively begun the practice of medicine. Tradition 
says that his methods were heroic, even drastic, but his ability 
was great and inspired confidence ; his bluntness also caused his 
patients to fear him and his doses. Dr. Martin's practice was 
wide-spread, his fame went beyond the confines of his State, 
and many were the honors he received. Dr. Martin was the first 
to introduce vaccination in Talbot county as a preventive to 
small pox ; and it took just such a bold man as he to overcome 
prejudice against its use. Dr. Martin was also a writer of prom- 
inence upon medical subjects, and his whole life was wrapped 
up in his profession, but his brusqueness gained for him the 
name of the "Abernethy of Talbot." He was a devoted farmer 
as well as physician, and made the science of agriculture a study. 
At the death of a favorite son, not wishing him to be placed in a 
private burying- ground that might fall into other hands, he gave 
to the vestry of Christ Church at Easton the lot of ground in 
which his son Avas buried. Dr. Martin married Miss Sarah Hay- 
ward of Dorchester and had a large family. He died in 1834. 

Dr. Tristram Thomas was born at ''Eoodly," the family home 
in Bolingbroke Xeck, near Trappe, in 1769. He was educated 
in Wilmington, Del., studying medicine, and graduated in Phil- 
adelphia, and began to practice in Trappe, but moved to Easton, 
and his name became known throughout the State before many 
years, as one who stood at the head of his profession. Dr. Thomas 
was three times married, and left a large family, one of his sons 
Philip Francis Thomas, having been Governor of Maryland, and 
Captain Charles Thomas, a distinguished officer of the United 
States Favy. Dr. Thomas is buried in Easton, in that part of 



114 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Spring Hill Cemetery, which was once the burying-ground of the 
Episcopal Church. 

In connection with the Bannings whose family figures prom- 
inently in the archives of this county, and whose interesting 
manuscripts are in the possession of Mr. James L. Banning, who 
has kindly furnished much data, it will be interesting to note 
some details relating to the famous Royal Oak, after which the 
present village is named. 

In the war of 1812, a British fleet anchored in the river oppo- 
site St. Michaels, and opened fire on the town, whose people are 
said to have replied with two cannon furnished them by one 
Jacob Gibson. What this small battery was unable to effect in 
the way of defense, a ruse supplied as a means for their protec- 
tion. Lanterns were hung in the tops of tall trees and succeeded 
in misleading the British gunners, who gave their pieces such 
elevation that the balls passed over instead of into the town. A 
few miles from St. Michaels stood the famous oak, that from 
this engagement was called Royal, a veritable monarch of the 
forest, huge and wide spreading, and from whose limbs above 
the roadway hung two cannon balls of local fame. It was a 
white oak, doubtless identical with "Bartlett's" Oak of Revolu- 
tionary times, and from its huge size probably stood there be- 
fore America was discovered. The tree had a diameter of nine 
feet just above the flare of the roots. 

Under its spreading branches was formed and drilled a com- 
pany of militiamen that fought in the war of the Independence, 
but now naught of them remains, but memories associated with 
those troublous times, and its name perpetuated in the village 
of Royal Oak. Near the site of the famous tree, has been plant- 
ed a locust post that holds aloft the cannon balls. Of these the 
larger was fired into the town of St. Michaels from a British 
vessel in 1812, and passed through a house, entered a chicken 
coop, killing the chicken, the only blood it shed. Ihe ball was 
obtained by Robert Banning of the Isthmus (1776-1845,) and 
with the smaller one was hung from the famous oak above the 
roadway. 

When the tree fell in 1864, the balls with their iron straps 
and ring struck the fancy of a Miles River boatman as an ex- 
cellent device for a "kelick" or anchor. In this capacity they 
served until secured by Henry G. Banning, who had them hung 



SOME TALBOT WORTHIES OE COLONIAL DAYS 115 

in his lawn at Wilmington, Delaware. In 1880 Dr. Bobinson 
and others of Eoyal Oak who knew of them, and who were in- 
terested in the preservation of relics, erected the locust post, 
which now holds them, so the balls are again where they belong 
on the site of the Eoyal Oak. May they long hang there, one 
of the mementos of the legendary lore of Talbot. 

This chapter cannot well be closed without venturing 
somewhat beyond the confines of the present limits of Talbot, 
for, be it remembered, in Colonial days her borders were wider 
than now, and so interwoven were her prominent people with 
historical events between the bays that the song and story writer 
might find this territory as replete with material as many an- 
other locality around which has been woven a halo of romance 
in poetry and prose. 

• If the peninsula of which Talbot county forms a part was not 
fated to be the birth place of the immortal Washington, he was 
assigned a locality not far away ; and if the land was not immor- 
talized by the battles of Brandywine and Yorktown, and if the 
sight of its shores did not prompt the patriotic strains of the 
Star Spangled Banner, such events and others occurred so near 
that this section must be included in the theatre of action. There 
is that notable Captain Lambert Wickes, a collateral ances- 
tor of the Kent county family of that name, whose career as 
an English commerce destroyer in 1776 and 1777 is a history in 
itself, and almost without a parallel. His short and successful 
naval career of only fourteen months was spent mostly in cruising 
around England, and ended in his untimely death off Newfound- 
land at the early age of thirty- one. During those fourteen 
months he terrorized the English merchant service, on one occa- 
sion capturing no less than fourteen merchantmen in five days. 

A counterpart of Eaul Eevere is easily found in Bodney's 
furious ride from Dover to Bhiladelphia, July 30, 1776. 

Later in the war of 1812 we read of the battle of Caulk's or 
Cork's field in Kent county. Here the British bound for 
Chestertown to bum it, were turned back to their ships with 
heavy loss, carrying their mortally wounded leader, Sir Eeter 
Barker, "that he might not die on the d — Yankee ground." 

Maiay an old historic event of the Eeninsula is of similar tenor, 
and needs but the pen of some Cooper or Irving to weave it into 
a narrative of absorbing interest. Men from this section fought 



116 LAND OF LE&KNDARY LORE 

in almost every battle of note in the Revolution except perhaps 
Bunker Hill. " These would include Kirkwood, that brave and 
meritorious and unrewarded soldier who fell in his thirty-third 
engagement. Caldwell, whose blue game-cocks gave the nom- 
de-plume to the Delaware boys. Rodney the signer, Haslett, 
McDonough, Hnnn, Patton, Bennett, Jacquett, Lambert Wickes. 
and Geddes. 

"That vile rebel" George Latimer, also his father. James 
Latimer, the President of the Delaware Assembly of 1787, that 
was first of all the states to ratify the Constitution of the Uuited 
States, and Jeremiah Banning of Talbot county, Chairman of the 
Talbot county delegation sent to Annapolis for the same pur- 
pose in 1788. 

Among the early settlers of this region there were many fac- 
tional contentions and troubles with, the Indians. Notably on 
Kent Island was this the case, where it became necessary for 
an Assembly, meeting r near the Chester River, to pass an 
ordinance, legalizing the act to kill an Indian at sight at any 
time or place. Thus in a thousand ways is our shore dotted 
with those spots of historic lore, each fact a thread in th^ fabric 
of our mighty nation. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



TOLD BY GRAVESTONES. 



m 




EPORE dismissing wholly the old 
burying grounds of Talbot, and 
obeying the injunction to "Let the 
dead past bury its dead," it will 
not be amiss to write dow n a few 
of the quaint old legends told by 
gravestones, as often seen here. 
The fact mast be borne in miad that in those days of an almost 
forgotten age, the story of the dead expressed a full belief in the 
worth of the dear departed. Those good old souls told the stone 
cutter to chisel just what they believed was the right thing, and 
they would have been horrified could they have looked far enough 
into the future to read the sign a wag put over a certain cemetery: 



"Here lie the dead, 
And here the living: 



lie: 



There is doubtless more truth than poetry in many of the in- 
scriptions, for gravestones, like obituaries, often lie. But then 
the good old Roman way was best perhaps : 

"Z>e mortais nil nisi bonum, 
When men from earth have passed away ; 

If they had vices do not own 'em. 
Such was the kindly Roman way." 

Yet what does it matter after all what may be said of us when 
dead, for, be it good or evil, it falls upon ears that hear it not. 

"Wealth and glory and place and power, 

y\l hat are they worth to me or you ? 
For the lease of life runs out in an hour, 

And death stands ready to claim his due ; 
Sounding honors or heaps of gold, 

What are they all when all is told ? 

A pain or a pleasure, a smile or a tear — 
What does it matter which we claim ? 

For we step from the cradle unto the bier, 
And a careless world goes on the same. 

Hours of gladness or hours of sorrow, 

What does it matter to us to-morrow ? 



118 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Truth of love or vow of friend — 

Tender caresses or cruel sneers — 
What do matter to us in the end '? 

For the brief day dies, and the long night nears. 
Passionate kisses, or tears of gall, 

The grave will open and cover them all. 

Homeless vagrant, or honored guest, 

Poor and humble, rich and ^reat, 
All are racked with the world's unrest, 

All must meet with the common fate. 
Life from childhood till we are old, 

What is it all when all is told ?" 

In the burying- ground of Wye House, on a battered shield sup- 
ported by mortuary emblems, one may read this notable inscription : 

Henrietta Maria Lloyd. 
She now takes her Rest within this Tomb 
Had Rachel's Face and Leah's fruitful womb, 

Abigail's Wisdom, Lydia's faithful Heart, 

With Martha's Care and Mary's Better part. 

Who died the 21st day of May, 

(Anno) Dom. 1667, aged 50 years, — months, 23 days. 

To whose Memory Richard Bennet dedicates this Tomb. 

In Oxford Neck, at "Belleville," on lands held by the Boz- 
mans and Kerrs, on a marble monument, we find the following : 

This memorial of 
A beloved child, with sure 
Tokens of Manliness of Soul, 
Has been set at the foot of his Grandmother's Grave, 
And it will suggest, after 38 years, 
Hopes too soon blighted, 
With womanly Virtues, Well tested, 
In the character of 
Sarah Hollyday Kerr, 
Born at Boon's Creek Plantation 
March 31st, 1781. 
Died at Easton, Maryland 
April 1st, 1820. 
On another : 

"Chamberlaine of Oxford, Maryland, from 1714, and of Saughall 
Magna Shatrick Parish. Chelshire, England, from 1334, 7th of Edward 
III., and from Little Barrow, Chelshire." 

Other stones in the Wye House graveyard have the following, 
just as they are thereon inscribed : 



TOLD BY GRAVESTONES 119 

"Here lies interred the body of Col. Philemon Lloyd, the son of E 
Lloyd & Alice his wife, who died the 22nd of June, 1685, in the 39th 
year of his age, leaving 3 sons & 7 daughters, all by his beloved wife 
Henrietta Maria. 

No more than this the Father says, 
But leaves his life to speak his praise." 

"Here lieth the body of Col. Edward Lloyd, eldest son of Col. Phil- 
emon Lloyd, and Henrietta Maria, his wife, born Feb. 1670, died Mar. 
20th 1718. He had by his wife Sarah, 5 sons and one daughter. He 
served his country in several honorable stations, both civil & militery, 
and was of the council many years. 1 ' 

"Here lie interred the remains of the Hon. Col. Edward Lloyd, who 
departed this life the 27th of January, 1770. Aged 59 years." 

"Here lieth interred the body of Philemon Lloyd son of Col. Phile- 
mon Lloyd and Henriette his wife, who departed this life 19th March, 
1732, in the 60th year of his age. He was one of the council and sec. 
retary of this province." 

"Here lie interred the remains of Mrs. Ann Lloyd, wife of Hon, Col. 
Edward Lloyd, who departed this life the first day of May 1789, aged 
48 years." 

A rather peculiar inscription on an old tomb, but not in the 
Wye Cemetery follows, and its composer seemed to be strugglino- 
after rhyme rather than a tribute to the dead. After the nearly 
effaced name comes this verse : 

This world is a city of crooked streets — 

Death is a Market-place where all men meets 

If life were a merchandise which all could buy, 
The Rich would live, and the poor would die." 
Scattered here, there, everywhere, in Talbot are gravestones 
and the inscriptions are as quaint as the people were of those old 
days, when the skull and cross bones were put on a slab as em- 
blematic of death. 

"Here are placed the remains of John Bozman Kerr, Jr. 
2nd Child of John Bozman and Lucy Hamilton (Stevens) 
Kerr ; Born without loss of Citizenship At Home of United 
States Legation, Leon, de Nicaragua, Central America, On 
Palm Sunday, March 20th, 1853, and died at Baltimore 
Maryland January 28th 1857. 

Quis desiderio sitpudor, aut modus tarn chari capitis.''' 
The following on a tomb in Christ Church, St. Michaels is in 
Latin, but the translation is given, audit will be read with in- 
terest by all in any way connected with the Eeverend Mchols 
who wrote the modest lines he wished inscribed to his memory. 



120 



LAND of legendary lore 




TOLD BY GRAVESTONES 121 

"Here lie the remains of H. Nichos, Master of Arts, Fellow of 

Jesus' College, the unworthy Pastor of this Church for 41 

years. 'Trample upon the salt that has lost its savor.' " 

Born Apr. 1st, 1678. 

Died Feb. 12th, 1748. 

Aged 70 years. 

Upon another are the sympathetic and hopeful Hues : 

'"Asleep in Jesus ! far from thee 
Thy kindred and their graves may be ! 
Yet there is still a beloved sleep. 
From which none ever wake to weep." 

In the old White Marsh burying-ground there are many quaint 
inscriptions. At the right hand corner of the ancient church, is 
a tomb, the slab now broken, which records that there lies the 
body of Robert Morris, in this fact a glance into the history of 
the past, reveals that this Robert Morris of Oxford, Md., was 
the father of Robert Morris the great Financier of Revolutionary 
times, and whose loan of a large sum of money to General Wash- 
ington, saved, it may be truthfully asserted, the American Army 
from starvation and destruction during the memorable winter at 
Valley Forge. It was the fortune left to the son Robert Morris, 
that was the foundation of his State's great wealth and enabled 
him to aid his country with the golden sinews of war. And 
there lies Robert Morris, Sr., "Unhonoredand unknown." Then 
he was a wealthy shipping merchant of Oxford, Md., and was 
accidentally killed by a shot tired in his honor from one of his 
own ships. Upon the tomb the inscription reads : 

"In memory of 

Robert Morris, native of Liverpool in Great Brbain. 

Late merchant at Oxford. Punctuality and 

Fidelity influenced his dealings. 

Principle and honesty governed his actions. 

With an uncommon degree of sincerity, 

He despi-ed art and dissimulation. 

His friendship was Firm, Candid and Valuable, 

His Charity Free, Discreet, and well Adapted. His zeal for 

the Public was active and useful. 
His hospitality was enhanced by his Conversation, seasoned 

with cheerful wit and sound judgment : 
A salute from the cannon of a ship, the wad fracturing his arm 
was the means by which he departed On the 12th day of July 
M. D. C. C. L." 



122 LAND OF LEGENDARY LOBE 

The burying-ground on the estate of the late General Tilgk- 
nian, known as Plinihiinmon, was later merged into what is now 
the Oxford Cemetery. It is situated upon the banks of a pretty 
stream on whose opposite shore ia full view arises a grove of fine 
trees, where stands Plimhimmon Mansion.* In this cemetery 
stands a cenotaph to Colonel Tench Tilghman, the aide-de-camp 
of Genl. Washington and his Confidential Secretary throughout 
the war of the Revolution. There beneath its shadow rests Col. 
Tilgbman's wife, born July 17th 1755, died January loth. 1843. 
Other of the Tilghmans are also buried there. On the monu- 
ment, which is a pedestal and obelisk, the following is inscribed 
to the memory of the gallant Revolutionary officer : 

"In memory 
of 
Tench Tilghman, Lt. Col. in the Continental 
Army, and Aide decamp of Washington, who spoke of 
him thus . 
He was in every action in which the Main Army was concern- 
ed. A great part of the time, he refused to receive pay. 
While living, no man could be more esteemed, and since 
dead none more lamented. No one had imbibed sentiments 
of greater friendship for him than I had done. He left as fair 
a reputation as ever belonged to human character." 
Died April 18th, 1785. 
Aged 42 years. 

Probably about the first land survey on the Eastern Shore ex- 
cept Kent Island, was a tract of one thousand acres on the Bay 
Shore about five miles from St. Michaels called Rich Neck or 
Mitchell's Point. It was surveyed 20th Oct. 1651, and sold 
about 1688 to James Murphy who is buried on the place. A 
large flat stone marks his grave, on which surmounted by a skull 
and cross bones is inscribed : 

"Here is interred the body of Capt. James Murphy, who de- 
parted this life on the 6th day of May 1698 aged 58 years." 

The grave yard is enclosed by a stone wall, and in it with 
many others is also interred Col. Matthew Tilghman Ward, who 
died in 1748. Lightning struck and badly damaged several of 
the stones in 1893. Another grave in Bayside is that of Thomas 
Impey, bearing the date 1658. One of the earliest tombs is that 
of Elizabeth Martin buried at "Hampton," Island Creek Neck, 



*Now the estate of Mr. W. H. Myers of Oxford. 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



123 




"RATCLIFPE," A TYTICAL SOUTHERN MANOR— NEAR EASTON. 




RESIDENCE OF WILSON M. TYLOR, EASTON. 



124 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

near Trappe. The stone has been removed to Easton and is 
dated 1676. In the Methodist Episcopal Cemetery, a stone says: 

"Col. Joseph Kemp died Sept. 24th, 1835, aged 55. 
"He lived a Christian soldier and ended his warfare in peace." 
In the same cemetery is found 

"Lucretia Auid. Died July 6th, 1827, aged 22 years. 1 ' 
It was Lucretia Auld who owned the celebrated Fred Douglass. 
On the Talbot shore of Wye river, about half a mile above 
its mouth, may be found by careful search mid tangled vines, 
weeds and marsh grass, a grave stone, now nearly submerged in 
the oozy soil in which it lies, bearing this inscription : * 
"Here lyeth immured ye bodye 
of Francis Butler, Gent, son of 
Rhoderick Butler, Gent, who was 
unfortunately drowned in St. Michaels River, the 3rd Mar. 
1689, aged 42 years or thereabot. — 
Memento Mori."— 
There is common tradition among those in the immediate 

vicinity and among the oystermen, who ply their trade on Miles 
and Wye rivers, that -'He was an English sailor washed ashore," 
which fails to explain how his name was ascertained, or who 
was good enough to mark his grave with a slab — a rather costly 
article in those days. 

It is not surprising that all knowledge of him was lost, when 
it is known that he was without kinship in a land where his 
sojourn was a bare two years. Yet few of our early settlers 
came into the province with brighter prospects of contributing 
a name to history. Having the advantage of powerful friends, 
whose influence was promptly felt upon his arrival, his success 
was practically assured. It is to be regretted that his untimely 
end robbed him of a promising career. 

His earliest record locates him in London, September, 1687, 
when he was favored with a letter from Lord Baltimore, directed 
to the members of his Lordship's council in Maryland. He 
doubtless left for Maryland on receipt of the letter, as he, 

"Mr Butler," was present at a council meeting held at St. 

Mary's on the 5th of April following, and "presented the fol: 
Lre from his Lop in his favour, viz. — 
'Gentl : 

The bearer is so powerfully recommended to me that I cannot re- 



contributed by Mr. Howard Mullikin, of Baltimore. 



TOLD BT GRAVESTONES 13* 

fuse giving you these Lines, which are to assure you that th« 
Countess of Tyrconnell has laid her comands on me by the hands of 
Sir Wru. Talbot to desire you to afford him all the favor and civility 
you can in Maryland where he is resolved to trye his fortune. You 
must therefore receive him very kindly and in anything that may be 
for bis advantage there assist him what you ]can that soe he may 
find some good effects from these comands sent by Sir Wm. Talbot 
from my Lady Tyrconnell to the G-entl. Tour Lo : Friend C. Balti- 
more. London 7 bar the 5th 1687. 
To the Honble Coll. Vincent Lowe 

Coll, Henry Darnall, Coll Wm. Digges and the rest of the Deptyes of 
the Province of Maryland. 1 " 

To this letter the Council '-expressed their readiness and will- 
ingness to give all due obedience, according lo the purport 
thereof','' and on the 10th of April, rive days later, they appoint 
ed Mr. Butler" sheriff of Talbot county, as the. following will 
sh.>w. 

"Major Peter Sayer, present Sheriff of Talbot county being in- 
tended for England, as he himself gives out, whereby there will be 
a vacancy of the Sher : Place of that county their honors in consid- 
eration of the great favour his Lop has signified in behalf of Mr. 

Butler recommended to his Lop by the Countess of Tyrconnell were 
pleased to offer the Sheriff's Place of said county to the said Mr. 
Butler, which he accepted, giving good security, as usual in such 
cases. 

In the foregoing. Francis Butler is referred to as "Mr Butler 1 ' 

and <; Mr. Butler.'' One would not therefore be justified in 

asserting it to be Francis Butler, who was appointed to the 
Sheriff's place, &c, did we not know from Administration ac- 
count of ''Francis Butler, of Talbot Co., Gent, deed." dated 3d 
Aug., 1664, that it was really he who was High Sheriff. This 
account allows tobacco to Henry Williams for "taking up the 
Bodie &c, " — and to the "Coroner of Kent Co. for viewing the 
body, &c." — and finally, several parcels of tobacco are referred 
to as being due "Mr. Francis Butler, late High Sheriff' of Talbot 
Co., deed." 

Taking the statement on the gravestone that he was drowned 
in St. Michaels river, with that of the admin, acc't that Kent 
County's Coroner viewed the body, it is safe to say the body 
floated out of the river and across the Eastern Bay to Kent 
Island, which then belonged to Kent county. The question nat- 
urally arises, why was he brought to this lonely spot on the 
Wye for burial ? 



126 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

A glance at the old county maps of Talbot will show it to be 
the locality of the "Ancient town of Doncaster" and here lived 
Major Peter Sayer, whom Francis Butler succeeded as Sheriff. 
It is fairly reasonable to suppose he took up quarters with him, 
his predecessor in office, thereby gaining benefit of his know- 
ledge of the office, as well as the comforts of a home. 

The union of Trippe's Creek with the Tred Avon, forms a 
strip of land, whose terminus is but a few yards wide ending in 
Ship Point, and which is also the extreme end of Bailey's Neck. 
Not long ago, some farm hands at work on the Tred Avon shore, 
about fifty yards from Ship Point, discovered human teeth and 
bones in the sand, and further investigation soon revealed as 
many as nine skulls, which were clearly identified as Indian re- 
mains. 

These bodies must have been buried origianlly about three 
feet deep, and in one hole, body upon body. A confused 
mass of bones was presented, ribs and vertebrae, arm, and leg 
bones, so that the identification could hardly have been 
made, had it not been for the decidedly characteristic skulls. 
These were so close together that a large tub might have covered 
the lot. The bones were so friable from age, that a knife pass- 
ing through the soil would have cut the bones and clay alike, 
which made it no easy matter to rescue an entire skull, or large 
bone even from the surrounding clay. Such as were removed 
entire soon became dry and strong enough to bear handling. 
Some jaw bones had teeth worn down, indicating middle life to 
their owner, others showed the perfect and unworn teeth of 
youth. What those remains could tell of prehistoric Talbot 
is left to imagination. 

The land there about is somewhat prolific of relics of the 
Stone Age, arrow and spear heads, hatchets, celts, hammer 
stones, etc., while beds of shell show that oysters were appreci- 
ated then as now. Judging by the stone relics already found, 
it takes but a little stretch of imagination to picture the dusky 
hunters pressing the game onward, to the slaughter at this point. 
And but a little more to see a band of human game, similarly 
pressed on until retreat ended with a final stand, hemmed in by 
the river, whose surface may have been cut by swiftly paddling 
canoemen eagerly alert for a swimming refuge from a desperate 
conflict. To some such scene, these remains, now in possession 



TOLD BY GRAVESTONES 127 

of Mr. James L. Banning, are probably the silent witnesses. 
In years long passed human bones were found in close proxim- 
ity to these, if stories handed down are to be accredited. Their 
history, as mythical then as now, probably antedates a period 
of two centuries The Indians were troublesome to the early 
white settlers, and it may be that these fell in some encounter 
with that race, which suggests a tragedy here, to which wind and 
wave have long sung their requiem. These bones are the memen- 
tos of love and hate, hopes and fears of a by-gone race, a race 
capable of the same feelings and impulses which dominate us, 
before a steamboat whistle ever sounded over these beautiful 
waters, or a ploughman ever swore in encounter with a shell 
heap. ISTow these bones are perhaps as little thought of by us as 
the sound of the whistle after its echoes have ceased, or as little 
as others will think of us a few years hence, when we have no 
more to show than that which the Indian grave disclosed, for. 

"All is Vanity." 



188 



LAND OF LEflBUDARI LORE 




HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, OXFORD. 




MONUMENT AT GRAVE OF LIEUTENANT-COLONEL TENCH TILGHMAN 

AT OXFORD. 



CHAPTER ^XX. 



HISTORIC FAMILIES. 




ERHAPS there is hardly another lo- 
cality in i^merica where the descen- 
dants of the first settlers can be found 
in greater force, still clinging to the 
original soil and roof tree of their fore- 
fathers, than in Talbot. This, in a 
manner, is owing to love of family tra- 
ditions ; and perhaps, more to their 
having here a comfortable living for the generations as they 
come into existence, the young men not being forced to go 
among strangers and fight the hard battle of life. For this 
reason many of the young men have remained here as inheri- 
tors of old estates. Finding congeniality in distant kinship, 
they made their marriages in related families, thus causing 
much commingling of kindred blood. 

If time had not effaced the stories, oftentimes the stones them- 
selves above these graves of the far by-gone, what a remarkable 
record could be read from them, if gathered in a book of Epi- 
taphs. What a history those old stones tell, and how many, 
whatever might have been the shortcomings of the departed, 
"Made a saint of them when dead." 
Still another reason for Talbot's sons and daughters clinging 
to their homes, is that, until recently, the Eastern Shore has 
been almost a terra incognita to the world at large. Only with- 
in the last score of years, have railroads traversed its plains. 
This alone has prevented outsiders from finding the favored 
spot, and likewise held the young at home. 

In looking over the list of old families whose names will ever 
be among the historic records of Talbot, we find that where many 
might be mentioned, the limits of this book prevent other than 
a few insertions here. These few are so identified with the his- 
toric and earliest annals of this county, that my book would be 
incomplete without giving a genesis of some of them at least. 
Most of their ancestors came to Talbot as men of position in Eng- 



180 LAND OF LEGENDARY LOBE 

land, connected with prominent English, families, and served 
as the King's officers in this new land. From the time of their 
arrival to the present day, those of their name have been a 
power in the land, and are justly proud of their ancestry, and 
that, for many generations. They are truly Americans. 

Edward Lloyd, the first of the name in Maryland, came from 
Virginia with Leonard Strong, William Durand and others, 
about 1650, and settled at Greenbury Point near Annapolis. He 
was a Puritan, and compelled to leave Virginia because of his 
non-conformity. Leonard Strong says in his "Babylon's Fall," 
"they were not invited into Maryland, only received and pro- 
tected." Mr. Lloyd returned to England in 1668, and died 
there. In his will, dated May 11th, 1695, he styled himsell 
"Edward Lloyd of the Parish of St. Mary, Whitechappel, in the 
county of Middlesex, merchant, and late planter of Maryland." 
He devised "Wye House" to his grand-son, Edward, son of his 
son Philemon. Philemon Lloyd married Mrs. Henrietta Maria 
Neale Bennet, daughter of Captain James ISTeale and his wife, 
name-sake and grand-daughter (by proxy) of the Queen of Eng- 
land, wife of the unfortunate Charles I. ^Tradition says Annex 
Neale was maid of honor to that unhappy Queen/) Certain it is J 
that Captain Neale was sent by the King and Duke of York on a 
secret mission to Spain . 

After the martyrdom of CharlesL, 1648, Captain Neale brought 
his family to Maryland. His eldest daughter, Henrietta Maria, 
first married Richard Bennett, who was drowned in early man- 
hood. Her second husband was Philemon Lloyd. Edward, son 
of Philemon and Henrietta Maria Lloyd, married the beautiful 
Sarah Covington, after a romantic courtship, and resided at 
"Wye House." This old homestead has been held by eight 
generations of Lloyds, and there are three generations now liv- 
ing, the present head of the family, Col. Edward Lloyd, being the 
sixth Edward Lloyd in direct succession. All with two excep- 
tions have been members of the Maryland Legislature, and the 
grandfather of the present owner was Governor of Maryland 
1809-1811, and United States Senator 1819-1826. 

One of Governor Lloyd's daughters married Admiral Franklin 
Buchanan, and had a beautiful home, "The Rest," on Miles 
river ; her sister having married Commodore Charles Lowndes, 
United States Navy, lived on the opposite shore of the river at 



HISTORIC FAMILIES 131 

the ''Anchorage." After the death of Mr. Lloyd, Mrs Sarah 
Covington Lloyd married Mr. James Holly day, the son of Col. 
Thomas Hollyclay of consanguinity with Sir Leonard Hollyday, 
who was Lord Mayor of London in 1605. He was descended 
from Walter Hollyday, Minstrel Master of the court of Edward 
IV. After living at "Wye House" some years, Mr. and Mrs. 
James Hollyday left that place to her eldest son Edward Lloyd, and 
went to reside at "Readbourne," his plantation, about 1733. 
There they built a spacious brick mansion, planned, it is said, 
by Mrs. Hollyday, after consulting with Lord Baltimore. It is 
a fine specimen of Colonial architecture. Their eldest son, 
James, inherited that place; his brother, Henry, coming to Tal- 
bot, married Anna Maria Robins, and settled at "Ratcliffe 
Manor," a part of the estate. This was one of the handsomest 
places in Talbot county. As they were married in 1749, the 
house was probably built about that time. 

The Tilghmans of Queen Anne's and Talbot counties, trace 
their descent from Ei chard Tilghman of Holly way Court in the 
Parish of Snodland, Kent county, England, who lived about 
1400. Dr. Richard Tilghman, a surgeon in the British Navy, 
came to this country 1660, and, with his wife, Maria Foxley, 
settled at the "Hermitage," on land granted to him by Lord 
Baltimore. Their son Richard, one of the Lord Proprietor's 
Council, maried Anna Maria ISTeale Lloyd, daughter of Philemon 
and Henrietta Maria Neale Lloyd, and had several children. 
Richard inherited "The Hermitage." James married the beau- 
tiful Anne Francis, daughter of Tench Francis and cousin of Sir 
Philip Francis, the reputed author of "Junius' Letters," and 
lived at "Fausley" near Easton, where their son Tench Tilgh- 
man (a Lt.-Col. in the Revolutionary War, aid- de-camp and 
confidential secretary to Gen. Washington) was born. They 
afterwards moved to Philadelphia, where James Tilghman be- 
came a member of Penn's Council, attorney to the Lord Pro- 
prietor, and Secretary of the Proprietary Land Office of Penn- 
sylvania. 

Matthew Tilghman, youngest son of Richard second of the 
"Hermitage," inherited large estates from his uncle, Matthew 
Tilghman Ward, and lived at Rich Neck, on the bay-side, near 
Claiborne. He was a member of the Continental Congress, 
Chairman of the Committee of Safety fur the Eastern Shore of 



132 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Maryland, President of the Constitutional Congress assembled to 
prepare a form of government for this state, and filled so many 
public offices, that he was called by the historian McMahon, "the 
Patriarch of the Colony." "Plimhimmon," near Oxford, the 
beautiful home of his daughter, Mrs. Col. Tench Tilghman, has 
passed out of the family, as has also "Hope'" on Miles Biver, 
property which one branch of the Tilghman 's received from the 
Lloyds, with one of the daughteis of that house. 

Samuel Chamberlaine of "Plain dealing" was born at Saughall 
on the Dee, England, 1697. His father, Thomas Chamberlaine, 
and eldest brother John, had for many years engaged in trade 
with the Colonies in America, and owned many ships plying be- 
between Liverpool and Oxford, Maryland. Coming over in one 
of these vessels, he decided to settle at Oxford in 1714. 

This family derived its name from John, Count de Tanker - 
ville, who was Lord Chamberlain to Henry I. of England, 1125. 
Eichard, son of John de Tankerville, succeeding to that position 
in the royal household, assumed the patronymic of Chamber- 
lain, retaining the Tankerville arms. 

In 1735 Samuel Chamberlaine, having married Henrietta 
Maria Lloyd, moved to Plaindealing on the Tred Avon. At 
that time, he was one of the richest men in the county, owning 
thousands of acres on the Tred Avon and Choptank rivers. He 
was for years a member of the Lord Proprietor's Council, Deputy 
jSaval Officer of Pocomoke and Oxford, and Collector of the Port 
of Oxford, in which position he was succeeded by his eldest 
son, Thomas. Samuel Chamberlaine, Jr., married Henrietta 
Maria Hollyday, and they built the second homestead of the 
family in this country, "Bonfield" on Boon's Creek near Ox- 
ford. It is a large frame building with wainscoted walls and 
lofty ceilings, on a lovely creek so shut in by an island at its 
mouth as to appear like a lake. This property is now owned by 
Dr. J. E. M. Chamberlaine, of Easton. Plaindealing long ago 
fell into the hands of others. 

/ James Earle, the progenitor of that family in this country, 
came from Craglethorp. Lincolnshire, England, with his wife and 
children in 1683, and settled on Chester river. He died the fol- 
lowing year. One of his descendants, Eichard Tilghman Earle 
of "Needwood," Queen Anne's county, was a member of the 
convention, which met in Annapolis, June 22d, 1774. He married 



HISTORIC FAMILIES 133 

Anne Chamberlaine. Their son Samuel was a captain in the 
Bevolutionary Army. A second son, Richard Tilghman, was 
Chief Judge of the second Judicial District of Maryland, and 
one of the Judges of the Court of Appeals. James Earle, a 
great-grandson of James Earle, the emigrant, was appointed 
after the Revolution, Clerk of the General Court for the Eastern 
Shore of Maryland, and resided in Easton, until his death in 
1810. His son James succeeded his father, and at the time of 
his death, was Clerk of the Court of Appeals on the Eastern 
Shore, and cashier of the bank at Easton. 

Mcholas Goldsborough, the first of the name in this country, 
was born in 1640, at "Malcolm Regis," near Weymouth, Dorset 
county, England. He married Margaret Howes, daughter of 
Abram Howes of Newbury, county of Berks. He left Eugland 
in 1669, and went to Barbadoes, thence to New England, and 
finally settled on Kent Island, Maryland. His wife and three 
children came over a little later. Nicholas Goldsborough died 
soon after, and his widow married George Robins. 

From his two sons, Robert and Mcholas, all the Goldsboroughs 
of Maryland are descended. Robert married Elizabeth Green- 
bury, settled at "Ashby," and became the ancestor of the "Myr- 
tle Grove," "Shoal Creek," "Horn's Point," and "Yerbury" 
Goldsboroughs, many of whom are conspicuous in the history 
of the State of Marylaud, while from Mcholas sprung the 
"Otwell" btanch, the eldest son for six generations bearing that 
name. In the seventh, the rule was departed from, and the 
name Nicholas was bestowed upon the youngest son. 

A highly venerated name, but one no longer heard except in 
those families who claim descent from, and are proud to perpetu 
ate it by giving it to their children as (Christian or middle 
names, is that of Robins. The first George Robins came to 
America in 1670, and settled in Talbot county on a tract of land 
known as '-Job's Content." His grand-son called it "Peach 
Blossom," from the number of peach trees he imported 
through his friend Peter Collinson, the great botanist. These 
trees were imported from Persia, and introduced into Talbot, 
with many other trees and flowers, by Mr. George Robins. 

The name died with his only son. His daughters married in- 
to the Chamberlaine, Hollyday, Mcols and Hayward families, 
and left many descendants. Mrs. George Robins married a 



134 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




YACHTING PARTY ON MILES RIVER. 





BOUND FOR THE EASTERN SHORE. 



HISTORIC FAMILIES 185 

second time Mr. William Golclsborough, one of the Lord Pro- 
prietor's Council, and a Judge of the Provincial Court. The 
records of the Robins family have been carefully preserved, and 
date back to 1574. The present generation knows but little of 
this old place near Easton, for over a century one of the homes 
of the county, and the name "Peach Blossom" is associated only 
with the creek near the head of which it is situated. In the 
family burying ground may be found the names of many dis- 
tinguished in their day. 

The Rev. John Barclay, rector of St. Peter's Parish, son of 
David and Christiana Barclay, of Kincaird, Scotland, married 
Rachel Goldsborough, and left one daughter, who became the 
wife of Mr. Joseph Haskins, son of Captain Win, Haskins and 
Sarah, daughter of Rev. Thomas and Elizabeth Airey. Mr. 
Haskins was the father of the late Mr. Barclay Haskins. Both 
of these names are now extinct ; but their descendants are to be 
found in the Hayward and Trippe families of Talbot. The last 
two names do not properly belong to this county, for the Hay- 
wards settled in Somerset in 1722, on land still held by one of 
the line. One son coming to Talbot, married Miss Robins of 
"Peach Blossom," and made his home at "Locust Grove." The 
Trippes were a Dorchester family. We find Henry Trippe of 
that county a member of the Maryland Legislature, as early as 
1671. Dr, Edward R. Trippe and others of the name in Easton, 
are direct descendants of the Dorchester Trippes. 

David Kerr, who came from Scotland and settled in Talbot 
county, held many prominent positions in Maryland, and was a 
member of the Legislature in 1793. He married Rachel Leeds 
Bozman. a sister of John Leeds Bozman, the historian of Mary- 
land. Their son, the Hon. John Leeds Kerr, represented Tal- 
bot county in the House of Delegates and Senate of this state, 
was three times in the House of Representatives, and a member 
of the Senate from 1811 to 1813. Mr. Kerr married Sarah Holly- 
day Chamberlaine, and resided on Aurora street, Easton, in the 
house now occupied by his grandson, Col. Oswald Tilghman. 
]N T one of the name are left in Talbot, and Col. Tilghman is the only 
descendant of this old family on the Eastern Shore, the sons and 
their families having settled in Baltimore and Washington. 

At "Belle ville, " near Oxford, on land held for many years by 
the Bozinans and Kerrs, there is a monument to the Hon. John 



136 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Leeds Kerr, and there also lies buried Col. Thomas Bozman, 
grandson of William Bozman (the last named among the early 
Protestant settlers on the Chesapeake, 1627-29, before the char- 
ter of Lord Baltimore,) Lueretia Leeds Bozman wife of Thomas, 
their son John Bozman and his children, Rachel Leeds Bozman 
Kerr and John Leeds Bozman . 

The Lowes settled in Maryland about 1675. Col. Vincent 
Lowe was a prominent man in colonial times, being appointed 
by his brother-in-law, Lord Baltimore, to many positions of 
trust. His sister Jane Lowe, married Charles Calvert, fourth 
Lord Baltimore ; and while staying with her nephew, Colonel 
Nicholas Lowe at "Anderton," near Oxford, Lady Jane Calvert 
' visited the Friends Meeting House, Eastou, the day William 
Penn preached there. Col. Nicholas Lowe was the son of Henry 
Lowe of "Park Hall, 7 ' Derby, England, a brother of Lady Jane 
and Col. Vincent Lowe. 

It may be also said of several families of Friends, that they 
trace their Talbot lineage back for a quarter of a thousand years, 
and their descendants still gather around the hearthstone, that is 
upon land first settled by those of their name. In the days of 
extreme bigotry in creeds, a bigotry not yet eradicated wholly, 
it is sad to relate, it was with grateful hearts indeed that the 
Friends, of the Church of God, found a refuge in Maryland, and 
sought the Eastern Shore as a Mecca of hope for them. 

From Wales came one family, prominent in the land of their 
birth, and settled here in Talbot, the Dixons. the ancestors 
of the present house of thai name, so well and prominently 
known far beyond the state line of Maryland. The first of the 
Dixons obtained a patent of land from the King, still in existence, 
which embraced a large scopeof territory. Though considerable 
of it has passed into other hands, there are large tracts of the 
original grant still held by those of the name, the handsome 
country seat of Mr. Robert B. Dixon, of Eastern . a man of wealth 
and influence in both county and state. The fine country homes 
of Mr. Isaac H. Dixon, Mr. William T. Dixon and Mrs. John B. 
Dixon, are situated upon the Avon near Easton, and also upon 
the original patent of land. 

Another family of Friends among the first settlers of Talbot 
were the Bartletts, and their family is among the distinguished 
ones of this section. Their American ancestor came from Eng- 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



187 




TALBOT COUNTY RACE TRACK. 




THE PAPER MILL POND NEAR EASTON. 



138 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

land, and he too was granted a patent of land by the King - , 
much of which territory is still dwelt upon by those of the Bart- 
lett name. Between the Dixons and the Bartletts there are 
kindred and marriage ties ; and thus the inter-marriage goes on 
until many families of Friends are allied, as are the Tilghmans, 
Goldsboroughs, Lloyds, Earles and others. In those old days, 
the Friends clung more tenaciously to the tenets of their creed, 
and one then marrying out of their fold was well disciplined. It 
is not so now, as time works wonders, and love not only laughs 
at locksmiths, but creeds as well. 

The Friends were, strange to say, large slave owners, as well as 
land owners, and it is told that when a slave ship from the 
coast of Africa anchored in the Avon in full view of the Clival 
Meeting House, the whole congregation would adjourn to the 
shore from meeting, and the men going on board the craft, 
would pick out from the living cargo of blacks, those they wished 
for hands upon their plantations. Later the Friends became 
abolitionists, as far as the abolishing of slavery among their sect 
went, and it was not permitted that they should own or traffic 
in human beings. 

Though differing from others as they might, the Friends of 
Talbot never forced upon them their views, nor found fault with 
the actions of others, when those actions were based upon pare 
motives. They were not bigots, never have been so considered, 
and have allowed fully all rights of personal liberty and actions, 
as long as they did not conflict with the privileges of others. 
They were hospitable in the extreme, so much so that there 
was a committee appointed at their meetings to see that "'all 
traveling ministers were fully supplied with liquor on their jour- 
neys". Those were the days when the parsons were wont to im- 
bibe the 'spirits' to aid them in downing the Evil Spirit, that 
got into the hearts of many of their flocks. 

Asa proof of how 1 lie Friends of Talbot have kept their 
records of meetings, births, marriages and deaths, to-day their 
books are relied upon by the courts as proofs of legal questions, 
and in the vault of the Easton Court House their ancient books 
are kept and treasured as beyond price. In those same books too 
can be found the genealogy of every family of Friends in Talbot, 
no matter how humble or poor they may have been or are. As 
Friends have married, barriers being down now between them 



HISTORIC FAMILIES 139 

and those not of their sect, these marriages connect them with 
the other old families of Talbot in many cases ; and thus the 
the genealogy of the county is securely wound upon a wheel 
within a wheel, so that the stranger coming here must be care- 
ful indeed what he says, if he has a grievance against any one 
person, as he might !>e treading on the toes of half the community. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



PEN PICTURES. 




HEN one begins to look about 
him for items of interest connected 
with Talbot and its people, they 
crowd upon him like an avalanche 
that has to be stemmed and checked, 
or a book of modest size would grow 
into one that would dwarf the Bible 
in the number of its chapters. There 
is a Genesis to consider too of many a 
family, whose record would make 
most interesting reading, which can- 
not be dwelt upon in these pages. The citizens all have a rever- 
ence for the ancient tomes in their court house, and with reason, 
for there are strange records, wills, and documents within that 
old building, as may be understood when I say that in glancing 
over some of these works of ancient lore, dug out of the depths 
of vaults, 1 came upon records that would make rare reading. 

The first county record shows thai "court was held in Talbot 
county at the house of William Courcey, at Skipton.on a creek of 
the same name and a branch of the Wye, October 25th, 1662," just 
two hundred and thirty-eight years ago. I was also shown, 
through the courtesy of Mr. William Wilson of the County 
Clerk's office, one old book that tells all about the sale of the 
pirate Kidd's treasure, after the sea rover had been hanged in Lon- 
don for his crimes. This record, which has found its way into 
the vault of the Talbot court house, is a curious one, and put 
one of my famous ''Pirate Heroes" upon the level of a sea thief. 
From early boyhood I was charmed with Captain Kidd, also 
spelled Kyd\ from having read the romance of my father, en- 
titled, -'Captain Kyd, the Wizard of the Sea." That novel had 
an enormous sale half a century ago, founded upon the romance 
in American history. I could not bat admire Kidd, the pirate, 
for his daring, and regret that he painfully departed this life at 
the end of a rope, as he certainly did. 



PEN PICTURES 141 

In later years, when I bad begun to inflict a long-suffering-, 
reading public with my own romances, "founded upon facts," I 
too ran to pirates and land robbers, with the result that a pub- 
lisher ordered me to write a novel of Captain Kidd. and follow it 
as my father had done, with another of u Lafttte the Pirate of the 
Gulf." I obeyed for pecuniary reasons, and because I considered 
myself '-up in pirates." Though the books sold well, old timers 
who drew comparisons, frankly told me, I had fallen from grace 
in more ways than one in attempting to follow in my father's 
foot steps. At any rate, in the Talbot court house, I found the 
real story of the taking off of Captain Kidd. It reads as follows, 
without any sentimentality, but in cold, plain facts and is learned 
from the ancient record. 

"Addenda to the third volume of the state at large, beginning 
with fourth year of the reign of Queen Anne, and continued to 
the end of the last session of Parliament April 1st, 1788." Then 
follows: "And be it recorded under authority that it shall, 
and may be. lawful for her Majesty, if she pleases, to dispose 
as a charity to the Royal Hospital at Greenwich, the sum of 6470 
pounds and three shilling, which has been paid into the exche- 
quer, on or about the oue and thirtieth day of January 1704, by 
Richard Crawley, being of goods and perquisite taken on the 
ship with William Kidd, the notorious pirate, who was executed 
in London several years since." The italics are mine, for piracy 
was too common in those days to require distinguishing refer- 
ence ; but there is the record of how the captain of the innocent 
name, had been '-hanged in London," and that his booty, taken 
with him, after his captors and the officials had doubtless had 
their pick at it, amounted to over thirty-two thousand dollars. 
It was a large sum in those days, but the pirates of to-day, afloat 
and ashore, could discount Captain Kidd in the amounts of their 
booty. A certain charm lingers around every spot with which 
a romance is connected, just as a morbid curiosity is felt by 
many to behold the place, where some dark tragedy has happen- 
ed. It is a sentiment that clings to the people of Talbot, this 
desire to see the local of a romance, and learn more about it and 
the actors therein, rather than curiosity, for they have been 
born and bred in an historic atmosphere, and all about them are 
scenes that appeal to their interest in the mystery and romance 
of the past. 



142 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

With no home in Talbot is there a prettier romance linked 
than with that of "Plimhimmon," the estate then owned by Cap- 
tain John Coward, the commander of the good clipper ship "In- 
tegrity." The captain was a blunt old sailor, but honest and 
true; he was a planter as well, his estate of "Plimhimmon," later 
owned by the Tilghinans, and now by Mr. W. H Myers, of Ox- 
ford, and in good repair to-day, being a fine old home, where he 
dwelt at ease with his family, when his vessel lay in port. The 
"Integrity" lay in the Thames river, off London, one morning 
in the year 1751, when the plot of this true story begun, and 
which was woven into a novel by Miss Sedgwick, the author of 
of -'Redwood." Aboard the "Integrity" came a youth who 
begged the captain to take him on the voyage to America as a 
cabin boy. The handsome face, slender form, and refined ap- 
pearance of the youth caused the captain to hesitate, but he 
yielded to entreaties, and the good ship sailed with the boy on 
board. Passing Gravesend, the cabin boy looked longingly 
shoreward, waved his handkerchief, and seemed to be bidding 
farewell to some loved one. When the ship had passed Grave - 
send, he turned very white, then burst into tears, and won the 
sympathy of all on board. From that moment, he seemed to be 
utterly wretched, though he strove hard to attend to his duties. 
Across the broad Atlantic, "the Integrity" sailed in safety 
passed into the Chesapeake, and was nearing Oxford, when the 
cabin boy went to Captain Coward, and confessed that he had 
deceived him, telling him that he had left home for reasons not 
to be told, and that he was a girl . The captain was intensely angry 
at having been deceived, but told the girl he would take her to 
his home with him. This he did, and his wife and his daughters 
received her kindly, yet with suspicion that all was no*: as it 
should be with the girl, especially as she refused to give her real 
name, telling them to call her "Perdito." Under a cloud, as it 
were, the girl's life was not a happy one, and she longed to 
escape, yet at first found no means of doing so. One day, her 
story keing known, she met a handsome young sailor who had 
been anxious to make the acquaintance of the beautiful girl. 
To him she told her story, but not a word as to why she had left 
her home, or her name, only that she wished to return to Eng- 
land. He promised to aid her, and being second mate of the 
ship "Hazard," said that he could smuggle her onboard and keep 



PEN PICTURES 143 

her hidden, until they got out into the Atlantic. The name of 
the mate was Stewart Dean, a good name for a hero, by the way, 
it is so romantic, and he was a dashing, handsome fellow, it is 
said, the very one to catch the eye of a lovely maiden in her 
teens, or out of them, for that matter. Stewart Dean made his 
arrangements, prepared his hiding place, went ashore alone in a 
boat at night, to the point of land near "Plimhimmon Mansion," 
formed by the Avon and Town creeks, Oxford. There, un- 
der an apple tree, where there was an arbor, Perdito was wait- 
ing, and entering the boat, was rowed aboard the "Hazard," and 
gotten into her hiding place without being seen by any one, for, 
as the ship was to sail at dawn, the captain and men were ashore 
in Oxford, taking a few glasses of grog to the safety of the voy- 
age. Just before the sailing of the vessel, Captain Coward came 
aboard, reported that the girl had left his home, and that he 
was responsible for her safe return to England, she having come 
out with him. She had been seen in a boat with a sailor coming 
toward the ' 'Hazard. ' ' The ship wassearched, andStewart Dean 
aided Captain Coward in his attempt to hud the girl, but all in 
vain, and the vessel sailed. 

Once well out into the Atlantic, Stewart Dean went to the 
captain, and told him the whole story, how the unhappy girl 
had wished to return to England, and he had determined to help 
her, but had kept his own secret, not wishing to get him, the cap- 
tain, into trouble. The captain was naturally angry, but the girl 
was brought from her hiding place, and questioned. She refused to 
give her name, but said she only wished to return to England, 
that Stewart Dean had treated her nobly, and begged the cap- 
tain not to carry out his threat, and send her back, should he 
meet a vessel returning to Oxford. The captain promised to 
take her to London, and later the amazement of the first mate and 
crew at finding a beautiful young girl on board was great As 
a punishment for what he had done, the captain reduced Stewart 
Dean from second mate to ordinary seaman, but the braAe, 
young fellow did his work before the mass as faithfully as he 
had on the quarterdeck. 

Arriving in the Thames with the aid of a couple of sailors, for 
the crew to a man were his friends, Stewart Dean rowed the girl 
ashore, and took her to the corner of two streets in London as 
she asked him to do, she telling him she knew her Avay from 



144 



LA^P OF LEGENDARY LUKE 




KNIGHTS AND MAIDS OF HONOR— CORDOVA TOURNAMENT, 



'\ mr *^M "ill HP^U*- *-*JP^i 
inr'Trr*""** 1 *" ' '*'"' n ' r tTT \a> . jjniElBCfljPoOMliiBC 




' • d£8s^ 


La*s .JM*^** *"** ^Li^a"^ 



THE SUMMER GIRL ARRIVES BY EXPRESS. 



PEN PICTURES 145 

there. There they parted, the girl giving him a ring and ask- 
ing him to wear it in remembrance of her, but not a word more 
did she tell him about herself, and she was still a mystery to 
him. Returning aboard ship, he was further punished by not 
being allowed ashore while in port. On the return voyage, the 
"Hazard" was caught in a hurricane, the first mate was swept 
overboard, the captain was injured severely, and Stewart Dean 
was called to command the ship. That he saved the vessel, all 
knew ; he carried her safely into port, but neither the captain 
nor the men would tell in Oxford how he had kidnapped 
Perdito, 

Years passed by, and Stewart Dean commanded his own ship, 
a handsome brig built in Oxford for him, and which he had 
named the "Perdito." Soon after her first voyage, the "Per- 
dito" was armed and manned by a large crew, for the war of 
the Revolution had broken out, and Stewart Dean had turned 
his fleet craft into an American privateer. The young captain 
was not long in making a name for himself, for his prizes were 
many, until one day he fell in with an English brig-of-war, 
much his superior in guns and men. It was in West Indian 
waters, and the port of Antigua was not far distant. At once 
a battle between the brigs was begun, and after a most desperate 
encounter, the Englishman struck his colors, as his vessel was 
hulled and sinking. Going on board, Captain Dean was told 
that the wife, mother and son of the Governor of Antigua were 
on board, and asked what was to be done with them. "I shall 
sail for port under a flag of truce and return them in safety, as 
your vessel cannot be saved, and x4_inericans do not war against 
women and children," was the reply. Overhearing the response, 
the wife of the Governor came out of her stateroom, and Captain 
Dean found himself face to face with the mysterious girl whom 
he had aided to escape, and desperately loved ever since. The 
recognition was mutual, and the name of his vessel, her ring on 
his finger, told the story he bad never breathed to her when she 
was under his care. Then he met the Governor's mother, Lady 
Stanford, and Perdito's little son, who bore the christian name 
of Stewart Dean. 

That night on the deck of the brig, Stewart Dean heard Per- 
dito's story. It had been a love affair with a young American 
then in London, and they were to elope to America on the "In- 



146 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

tegrity," he to board her at Gravesend. But he had not been 
there, the "Integrity" had not landed, and so she went on to 
America alone and broken hearted. When she returned to Lon- 
don, she found her father willing to forgive her, if she would 
marry Lord Stanford, a man of fifty. She did so. and some 
years after, he was sent out as Governor to Antigua. A few 
months before, he had died, and she was returning to England 
with the Governor's mother and her child, when the sea-fight 
had occurred. Back to port Captain Dean took his passengers, 
and then set sail once more to win new laurels. The war ended, 
and soon after he visited London, and again he met f erdito, the 
widow of Lord Stanford, and a quiet wedding followed. Tra- 
dition says that Captain Dean brought his wife and her son to 
Talbot, and that his home was on Broad Creek Neck, in the old 
homestead where Editor George Haddaway of the Easton 
Ledger was born, also that young Stanford, when he reached his 
majority, returned to England to assume his title and estate ; 
but that the story of Perclito is true throughout. Just what 
became of the hero and heroine is not known, while there are 
some who assert that their descendants are now to be found 
in Talbot. 



CHAPTEE XXII. 



RANDOM SKETCHES. 




IXDIXG so much tradition, legend 
and anecdote to write of, when every 
"oldest citizen" is a perambulating 
fund of information, where every 
family has its fireside tales of long 
ago, it is hard to sift the wheat from 
the chaff, to select the best to relate. 
To jot down all would make my book 
a biographical Encyclopaedia, instead 
of the humble story of a remarkable 
country's history and people. One 
recalls events of importance more 
vividly in a community where life has gone only a half century 
in the even tenor of its way, than if there had been constant 
happenings of more than the average in importance. 

Thus the E evolutionary war was "the event" in Talbot's career, 
for it made a free people of royal slaves, caused a new nation 
to spring into existence in a day, which in a hundred years has 
become the greatest of the nations of the earth. The war of 
1800, though but a ripple with France that soon blew over, was 
another "event" in Talbot's career, and there are citizens here 
to day who wonder why the debt to their ancestors, their in- 
heritance known as the French Spoliation Claim, still remains 
unpaid by this rich American government, which long ago had 
more than equivalent for the claims, and yet "refuses to pay" 
through its Eepresentatives in Congress. The war of 1804 with 
Tripoli was another stirring event in Talbot, through its world- 
wide shipping interests ; and again the trouble with the mother 
country, England, in 1812 sent a thrill along the Chesapeake 
shores. In that three years struggle, Maryland took a most im- 
portant part, as history reveals. Then followed the Mexican 
war of 1846 to 1848, and Talbot's sons again went to battle un- 
der the stars and stripes. Xext came the greatest strife of 
modern times, the civil war, in which the men of Talbot 



148 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

were equally divided, as the "Hick's Post, G. A. B." and 
"Winder Cauip IT. C. Veterans," in Easton, now give evidence. 
The coming of prominent persons into a community is an event- 
to be jotted down, and it is to be recorded that Koscinsco recruit- 
ed most of his soldiers here and in other counties of the Eastern 
Shore. Then Lafayette was "mighty near" coming here ; only, 
for some reasons, his plan miscarried, and he lost the chance of 
his life, and doubtless regretted it to his dying day. 

A visitor to Talbot after the civil war, was Jefferson Davis, 
the "Chief of the Lost Cause," and indisputably one of Amer- 
ica's greatest statesmen. Mr. Davis visited Colonel Edward 
Lloyd, of "Wye House," after his retirement from public life. 
His record had been made as a soldier at Buena Vista and on 
other battle fields in Mexico, as Secretary of War from Missis- 
sippi and as President of the Confederacy, truly a man of re- 
markable destiny. The Eastern Shore of Maryland, far, far be- 
yond the limits of Talbot, came to see him, to grasp his hand for 
at hat he had been, and was, — the one time leader of the lost- 
cause. To-day he sleeps in a grave in Hollywood Cemetery, 
Eichmond, Va., his lonely mound marked with a tiny rosebush, 
but his memory engraved in the hearts of the people of Dixie. 
Other great men have come to Talbot, and it is said of Bayard 
Taylor, who visited all of the Eastern Shore by rail, steamer and 
carriage, that he spoke of it as one of the most charming spots 
of all he had seen in his travels the world over. It was Bayard 
Taylor who named the Atlantic shore at Ocean City the ' 'Velvet 
Beach." Charles Wilson Peale, the world renowned portrait 
painter, came to Talbot, and many of his paintings are today 
found among the old families of the county, notably, one of 
George Washington, the original of a portrait, from which 
many copies have been made, in the possession of Colonel Os- 
wald Tilghman, of Easton. Colonel Tilghman has others from 
the same famous brush. Talbot can boast of its own artists, 
sculptors, writers, soldiers, sailors and statesmen ; some of whom, 
having won fame, are contented to rest from their labors here 
in the home of their youth, while awaiting the final call to 
join the great majority. 

Of Talbot, and other counties of the Eastern Shore, many 
pretty romances have been written, while now and then one 
finds a libel, and that in fact, not a few falsehoods have been 



RANDOM SKETCHES 149 

written and told of this county. One book in particular, I may 
make mention of here, as its writer wields a pen that had done 
excellent work, and made him a name among men of letters. I 
refer to the story of "The Entailed Hat," by George Alfred 
lownsend, writing under the nom- de-plume of "Grath." "The 
Entailed Hat," deals with slavery days in Maryland and is vici- 
ous in tone, and unworthy its distinguished author. Mr. Town- 
send has too brilliant a mind to rake over the ashes of the by- 
gone, for plot and character, to reopen old sores, and thrust his 
pen, dagger like, into the dead, and misrepresent the society 
and people of the time of which he writes. There is enough 
that is good in men to make entertaining reading without delv- 
ing into the bad ; and what there is of evil one had better let be 
interred with their bones, for while living, if tlaej offend the 
mailed hand of the law is able to puuish. 

A story of pleasing romance is of Miss Sarah Covington, the 
daughter of a prosperous aud prominent Friend, whose record 
was among the first, of a fair Quakeress "marrying out of the 
meeting." She was first seen on horse-back by two brothers 
the Lloyds, on her way to church, riding behind her father, a 
custom in those days. The Lloyd brothers were not too-ether 
at the time they met her, but each was enraptured with her 
beauty, a case of love at first sight with both. Each brother 
went to the Meeting House, the old structure that is still stand- 
ing, and was surprised to see the other there. The meetino- 
over, they mounted their horses and rode separate ways to 
the home of the beautiful Quakeress, for, knowing her father 
they were determined to become acquainted with the object of 
their admiration. To their amazement, they met at the outer 
gate. Each felt the purpose of the other, and one suo-o-ested 
that they compare notes, and agreed that the one who had seen 
her first should have the field to win or lose. Each frankly 
named when and where he had first beheld her, and the van- 
quished wished his brother success, turned his horse, and with 
a sigh, rode homeward. The victor made his visit, met Miss 
Covington, became more in love than ever, and, in time won 
her heart, and she became his wife. 

Thereis another pretty romance of a love affair in those earlv 
days, among the old families, for Henry JSTicols, a poor youth 
met and loved Sarah Hollyday, the lovely daughter of the 



150 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

wealthy owner of the fine plantation of "Darley." He was loved 
by the maiden, but being poor his suit was displeasing to her 
father, in spite of a noble nature and honest life that won for 
him the sobriquet of "Sterling Harry." Disappointed in the 
love of his life, Henry Mcols went to England to seek his for- 
tune, and obtained it sooner than he had hoped for, inheriting 
a kinsman's rich estate. Eeturning to Talbot, he again offered 
his heart and hand, the latter now full of riches, to Sarah 
Hollyday ; but again came disappointment, for though the 
father's consent was now given, the plucky maiden refused, 
saying "if she could not marry the man she loved when poor, 
she would not marry him because he had found a for- 
tune." They then went their separate ways through life un- 
til at last he married. His wife lived ten years, and left him a 
widower. For eighteen years, he remained single, but his 
heart still turned to Sarah Hollyday, who at last, on her sixtieth 
birth- day became his wife. 

There is a tradition of "Plaindealing" of how Susan Eobins of 
"Peach Blossom," married Thomas Chamberlaine, and was taken 
to his lovely homeon theshoreof "Plaindealing" creek to dwell. 
Soon after their marriage, the husband died, and for seven 
years, his inconsolable widow sat at a window in her room gaz- 
ing out upon the grave of her husband in the adjacent family 
burying ground. Rumor has it that at night she had a lantern 
placed upon his grave, that her eyes might still rest upon the 
sacred spot. Though for seven years thus inconsolable, the 
sequel is that one day she saw her handsome cousin, Robert 
Lloyd JSTicols, ride before her window. Their eyes met, the long 
sorrow ended then and there, and the beautiful widow soon 
after married the young man, who nad ridden between her and 
the grave over which she had so long held vigil. Thus go the 
old stories told in Talbot. 

An incident of considerable interest of the war of 1812, in the 
Chesapeake and Talbot, happened to the family of Mr. Thomas 
H. Dawson and others, who were passengers on the packet 
"Messenger," bound for Baltimore. Notwithstanding the perils 
of navigating the bay, on account of the British cruisers, the 
packet vessels would run the gauntlet to and from Baltimore 
from Eastern Shore points. Captain Clement Vickers com- 
manded the "Messenger," sailing between Easton Point and 



RANDOM SKETCHES 151 

Baltimore, and he frequently ran the blockade with his swift 
vessel. But one morning in a light breeze, on her return trip 
to Talbot, the "Messenger" was captured off Poplar Island, by 
Lieut. Pearson, and a crew of men iu a barge from the British 
man of- War "Dragon," a seventy-four gun ship. An attempt 
was made by General Benson to ransom the "Messenger, ' ' and get 
the release of her passengers, but it was only in part successful. 
The British commander, though willing to set the ladies and 
children free, wished to exchange the men, maj for man, for 
British subjects ; he also said as the "Messenger" was such a 
beautiful model, and so eleganlly fitted up, she was to be pre- 
sented to the Prince Regent as a yacht. The following is a list 
of the prisoners taken from the "Messenger :" Mrs. Edith Daw- 
son and two children, Miss Harriet W. Day, Miss Susan Mc- 
Glaughlin, Miss Isabella Prince, Miss Elizabeth Frazier, Mrs. 
Brown, Dr. Traverse, James Cockayne, Joseph Spencer, Robert 
Spencer, Samuel Holmes, Harry L. Clarke, William Bromwell 
and two negroes, Ned and Kitty. Before these passengers were 
released, the ladies and gentlemen were invited to participate 
in a fete given by the officers of the "Dragon." To Mrs. Daw- 
son, Captain Barrie of the "Dragon" was particularly kind, 
and at the feast, finding one of her children had been given a 
pewter spoon, ordered a silver spoon from his own locker, and 
presented it to the little girl as a souvenir of their capture. 
Ihis spoon is now an heirloom in the family directly descended 
from Mrs. T. H. Dawson, a Quakeress, and the little girl to 
whom it was given, was the grandmother of the present genera- 
tion of Jenkins, iu Easton. 

Dr. Charles Lowndes, of "Sunny Side," has in his possession 
some old and interesting papers, among which are legal docu- 
ments going back considerably over two hundred years. One 
of these bears the bold signature of Charles Calvert, its purport 
showing the bestowal of certain land in Talbot to Francis 
Brooks, bearing date at London the second day of July, in the 
year of our Lord, one thousand six hundred and forty-third. It 
is signed by "Charles Calvert, Captain General and Chief Gov- 
ernor of our province of Maryland." This would indicate that 
deeds were given to land in Talbot, Maryland, as far back as 
1613, which goes back still some score of years to the date of its 
execution in London, England, and St, Mary's, Maryland. An- 



152 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

other of these old papers is a will, and reads : "In the name 
of God Amen the fourteenth day of seventh month A D one 
thousand seven hundred and one I Alexander Ray of Talbot 
county in the Province of Maryland being sick of body but of 
sound and perfect mind and memory praise be given to God 
do make and ordain this my last Will and Testament in manner 
following (that is to say) I first and principally commend my 
soul into the hands of Almighty God my Maker hoping 
through merit and death and the passion of Jesns Christ to re- 
ceive pardon and remission of all my sins and to inherit ever- 
lasting life and my body I commit unto the ground to be decent- 
ly buried at the discretion of my friends and as touching all 
such temporal estate as it hath pleased Almighty God to be- 
stow upon me I give in form and manner following to wit." 
The above was written by the maker of the will as the signa- 
ture shows, and from his great anxiety to make his peace with 
God, Mr. Alexander Ray was doubtless badly scared at the ap- 
proach of death, and in such haste, that he did not place a 
punctuation mark from the beginning to the end of his will. 
To those interested in what he could not take with him, I will 
add that he died possessed "of a goodly number of acres in 
Talbot and considerable personal property." 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



153 




THE HOTEL AVON, E ASTON. 




jBfr-M 



«.-'"-*• Wn*£j 



jfi**A 



SPRING HILL CEMETERY, EASTON, LOOKING SOUTH. 



CHAPTER XXII [. 



A MAN OF STRANGE DESTINY 




F the thousands who have heard of 
Fred Douglass, how few know more of 
his very remarkable career than the 
fact, that he escaped from slavery, and 
in a long life, made a name for himself 
that cannot be disputed "? How far this 
success was owing to the white blood in 
his veins, (Fred Douglass was a quad- 
roon,) and the great aid bestowed up- 
on him by abolitionists, and others, 
from abolition sentiment, simply be- 
cause he was ''a fugitive slave," I need not dwell upon here, 
and yet, as he came from this part of the Eastern Shore of 
Maryland, I deem it but right to refer to him and his strange 
destiny, as one who may be set down as a foot-ball of fate. 

Frederick Douglass was born in the district known as Tucka- 
hoe. The exact date of his birth, he never knew anymore than 
he did as to just who his father was. His own words on this 
subject in later years were : "Genealogical trees did not flour- 
ish among slaves. A person of some consequence among free- 
men, sometimes designated father, was literally abolished in 
slave law and slave practice. It was only occasionally that an ex- 
ception was found to this system. As to the time of my birth, 
I am equally indistinct. Indeed, I seldom knew a slave who 
could tell exactly how old he was, for slave mothers knew noth- 
ing of the months of the year or the days of the month. There 
was no family record among them. They measured the ages of 
their children by spring-time, harvest-time, winter-time, and 
planting-time, and naturally, little by little, even these desig- 
nations became obliterated. From certain events which subse- 
quently occurred, however, I am led to believe that I was born 
about the year 1817." 

One of the earliest recollections of the child who came into 
the world thus unheralded, unrecorded, unprotected by the ties 



A MAN OF STRANGE DESTINY 155 

of family, was his separation from the old grandmother, who 
had been permitted by his master and owner to nourish his 
infancy. Arriving at the mansion of the "old master," whom 
even at that early age he had learned to dread as some myster- 
ious and ill-favored personage, his grandmother, weeping bitter- 
ly all the time, pointed out to him a number of children some- 
what older than himself, and assured him that they were his 
brothers and sisters. This was indeed the case, that is to say, 
the same mother had borne them. Heaven only could tell 
who their fathers were. Brothers and sisters though they were 
however, their presence stirred no pulse of affection in the slave 
boy's heart. Housed, fed, and clothed as described, the boy 
passed what he believes to have been about three years, and 
then, when, according to his best recollection, he was about ten 
years old, a happy change occurred in his situation. By the 
orders of his master he was sent to Baltimore to live with a 
relative of his owner's family. His new master, and particular- 
ly his mistress, proved to be very kind and warm-hearted peo- 
ple. The lady of the house was a religious woman in more 
senses than that of church -going, and under her care the boy 
of quick intelligence and really remarkable natural ability rap- 
idly gained much useful information, and quickly developed 
many qualities which, under other circumstances, would doubt- 
less have lain dormant. It was in this new home that Fred- 
erick Douglass learned to read, so laying the foundation for 
that better education which in the years afterward made him 
a marked man, not only among his own people, but among the 
citizens of this country. 

Having gained this knowledge, his next desire was to learn 
to write. He did so by a most ingenious process. Near his 
master's house there was a ship-yard, to which he was allowed 
to go during his hours of leisure, and in which he observed the 
carpenters, after cutting and getting a plank or rail or piece 
of timber ready for use, write on it the initials of the names of 
those parts of the ship for which they were destined. For instance, 
when a plank was ready for the starboard bow, it was marked 
"S. B.," and so on for the different parts of the vessel. The 
boy quickly saw for what purpose these letters were intended, 
and learned to make them. Douglass remained in Baltimore 
until his sixteenth year. Then, suddenly, because of the death 



156 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

of Ms owner, he was sent to St. Michaels, on the Eastern 
Shore. It was from St. Michaels that Frederick Douglass went 
to "Wye House," the home of the present Colonel Edward Lloyd's 
father Later he was employed in various duties, aud was a hand 
on board of a small vessel trading in the Chesapeake. This 
gave him the chance he had been longing for, to make his es- 
cape. In those days negroes employed upon vessels were 
obliged to have "papers" stating who and what they were. 
Such a protection "paper," Frederick Douglass secured from a 
negro sailor, a freeman, and when his vessel reached Baltimore, 
he deserted, and with money he had saved up, took the train 
for New York. His "paper" passed muster, and from that day 
Frederick Douglass entered upon the career that made him the 
most famous representative of his race, that is, allowing for 
argument's sake, that he was a negro. 

The exact connection which Frederick Douglass had with 
John Brown is somewhat a mystery, though he did not join him 
in his famous raid in Virginia. As letters to Brown were found 
in the latter's possession, implicating Frederick Douglass, he cast 
his eye to the windward to make his quick escape, gave up a. 
lecturing tour he was then filling in Philadelphia, aud did as 
absconding cashiers x were wont to do, skipped into Canada, and 
thence to England, thereby showing the wisdom that had al- 
way enabled him to take care of himself. That he acted wisely, 
the following "requisition" will show : 

Richmond, Va., Nov. Id, 1850. 
To His Excellency James Buchanan, President of the United States, 
and to the Honorable Postmaster-General of the United States. 
Gentlemen : I have information such as has caused me upon pro- 
per affidavits, to make requisition upon the Executive of Michigan 
for the delivery of the person of Frederick Douglass, a negro man, 
supposed now to be in Michigan, charged with murder, robbery, 
and inciting servile insurrection in the State of Virginia. My agents 
for the arrest and reclamation of the person so charged, are Benja- 
min M. Morris and William N. Kelly. The latter has the requisition, 
and will wait on you to the end of obtaining nominal authority as 
Post Office agents. They need be very secretive in this matter, and 
some pretext of traveling through the dangerous section for the exe- 
cution of the laws in this behalf, and some protection against ob- 
trusive, unruly, or lawless violence. If it be proper so to do, will 
the Postmaster-General be pleased to give Mr. Kelly for each of 
these men a permit and authority to act as detectives for the Post 



A MAN" OF STRANGE DASTINY 157 

Office Department without pay, but to pass and repass without 
question, delay, or hindrance? Respectfully submitted by your 
obedient servant, Hknry A. Wise. 

It is needless to say that the requisition did not "fetch." Fred 
Douglass. When the civil war broke out, he was one of the 
first to advocate employing negro troops by the United States 
Government, but he did not enlist himself. His late career is 
well known, so need not be commented on in these pages, 
though the few lines that follow, written by the facile pen of 
Dr. John William Palmer, in the Century Magazine, will doubt- 
less be read with interest as descriptive of the visit in his old age 
of Frederick Douglass to the scene of his youth and slavery days. 

In 1881 Frederick Douglass, being then marshal of the 
District of Columbia, was moved to revisit the scenes of his 
childhood and his thrall, and one day found himself on the 
porch of "Wye House," where he was received by the sons of 
Colonel Lloyd, their father being absent, with that courtesy 
which is extended to every stranger who finds his way thither. 
When he had made known the motive of his visit, he was con- 
ducted over the estate, from spot to spot that he remembered 
and described with all their childish associations ; here a spring, 
there a hedge, a lane, a field, a tree. He called them by their 
names, or recalled them by some simple incident, and all the 
glowing heart of the man seemed to go out to the place as he pass- 
ed from ghost to ghost as in a dream. And then a strange 
thing happened ; standing mute and musing for a while, he said 
slowly and low, as one who talks in his sleep, "Oyer in them 
woods was whar me and Mars Dan useter trap rabbits." "Mars 
Dan'' was the Governor's son. Was it the man's half-playful, 
half- pathetic sense of the grotesque incongruity of the situation ? 
Or was it glamour "? — all the tremendous significance of a phenom- 
enal life compacted into the homely reflection and phrase of a 
barefoot "darky." 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF TALBOT. 




HE environs of Easton are attrac- 
tive in many ways, on account of the 
marine views, good roads, line old 
homes, well tilled farms and other ad- 
vantages ; also dotting- the landscape 
and shore, are a couple of dozens of 
towns, villages and hamlets that are 
naturally very important factors in 
the eyes of their separate inhabi- 
tants. Oxford, in point of age comes 
first in the Easton District and has 
already been described. Tnnis Mills is a pretty village, situat- 
ed upon both sides of a river — Leed's Creek, it is called — and 
boasts of being a port in direct commnnication with Baltimore 
by steamers, as well as the seat of a large lumber industry. 
Easton Point is a suburb of Easton, the landing-place of the 
Baltimore steamers and a considerable commercial centre and 
seaport. Kirkham is a hamlet, with the traditional store and 
blacksmith shop, and of enough importance to have a represent- 
ative of "Uncle Sam" as postmaster, who in reality is a post- 
mistress. In the St. Michaels district, we iind Bellevue, situated 
upon the Tred Avon, with its postoffice, steamboat wharf and 
store. Both Bozman and Xeavitt are postoffice hamlets, and do 
an extensive trade with the country surrounding them. 

Royal Oak is an "old timer," the interesting story of 
whose name lias already been told. The village has a postoffice, 
carriage factory, several good stores, a drug store and several 
churches, aud a handsome school house, while it is proud it is 
a village with a history. In the neighborhood of Royal Oak, is 
"Solitude," the old home of the late Judge Orinoud Hammond, 
a distinguished and much beloved citizen of Talbot. St. Mich- 
aels, on the Miles, is a peculiarly situated, but hospitable and 
pleasant town of over two thousand inhabitants. With its pretty 
homes and attractive stores, it is another claimant, not only for 



TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF TALBOT 159 

honors of long ago, but for its progressiveness of to-day. It 
lies on a neck of land, from a quarter of a mile to a mile in 
width, the Miles or St. Michaels river, for it has been renamed, 
upon one side, the Broad on the other. The latter is navigable 
to the town, and forms a good harbor. Canoes are abundant in 
those waters, which for boating, has no superior. Upon the 
other hand, is the Miles, and an inlet from it forms a fine har- 
bor, not only for the many hshing craft, but for the coasters and 
yachts, while there is a good wharf and warehouse belonging to 
the Baltimore steamboat line. It is a beautiful sight to see the 
numerous vessels in harbor, and especially when the oyster fleets 
are coming homeward in the evening These marine pictures 
of fleets are not surpassed on any waters, and y et are very com- 
mon to these shores, at Tilghman's Island, St. Michaels', Clai- 
borne y Oxford, Cambridge, and Easton. 

St. Michaels always was a place of considerable import- 
ance and is to-day, with its large oyster traffic, fisheries and 
boat- building, for be it known, along with the several places 
named above, there are shipyards, and in them are built the 
fleet buckeye, the graceful canoe, and slippery dead-rise bateau. 
At present St. Michaels depends principally on its oyster busi- 
ness, which is carried on extensively. There are about two 
hundred of the finest and fleetest canoes in the world there, and 
any good morning or evening, the sight on the river, would de- 
light a yachtsman's eyes. There are also many schooners and 
pungies which carry oysters to other markets. In the sum- 
mer season, the town is always crowded with summer visitors 
from the cities, and ample traveling facilities are supplied by 
the Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic Eailroad. All the 
principal streets of the town are paved, and the town is well 
lighted, and the roads are very fine for bicycling or driving. 

It is said that the Rev. James Claylaml was performing 
the duties of a clergyman of the Church of England there as 
early as 1672, and that the church building was the nucleus 
around which gathered the village. It is also claimed that the 
earliest recorded mention of the town was an action to recover a 
bet on a horse race, which took place in 1680 ; hence the church 
building was built prior to that date. In very early times the 
town was noted for its ship -building and in it were built many 
of the famous Baltimore clippers, which were the ocean grey 



160 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




TUNIS MILLS HARBOR AND LUMBER MILL. 




SCENE ON MRS. K. .T. ROBINSON'S ESTATE ON THE AVON. 



TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF TALBOT 161 

hounds of that day. Tu olden times, the Indians used to portage 
their canoes across the narrow neck of land from river to river, 
and the people of to-day do the same with their vessels, rather 
than take the trip around, more than fifty miles, though a more 
delightful trip than this same sail cannot be imagined. 

There are two cannon, six-pounders, in Fort McHenry which 
belong to St Michaels, and which can be restored to the town, if 
the corporation or the people want them. Jacob Gibson, of 
Marengo and Sharp's Island gave these guns to the town in 1813, 
as a kind of peace offering to those whom his famous prank had 
offended. There is no one living now who remembers what oc- 
curred eighty five years ago ; but there were only a few years 
since, those alive who could tell the circumstances of this inci- 
dent in the war with Great Britain. Mr. Gibson owned Sharp's 
[sland, then a farm of seven hundred acres, and on it he had 
slaves and live-stock and other property. When Admiral War- 
ren's Brit ish cruisers came up the Chesapeake they raided Sharp's 
Island, as foragers for food, and took off cattle, sheep and hogs 
to the fleet. Mr. Gibson himself boarded the Admiral's flag- 
ship, where he was hospitably entertained, and succeeded in 
getting paid for the property taken, and a written protection for 
himself and island. Report exaggerated this diplomatic victory 
into something like treason, and in St. Michaels and elsewhere it 
was said that Mr. Gibson had sold out to the enemy. 

The whole of the Bayside country was on the qui vive, expect- 
ing a British attack on St. Michaels. Mr. Gibson had mean- 
while planned a scare for the ' 'panicky" people. He came from 
Sharp's Island one day in his barge. roAved by his slaves, with a 
red bandanna at the mast head, and an empty rum barrel for a 
drum, to land on the San Domingo side of St. Michaels, on his 
way to Marengo. The people thought the British were coming. 
Women and children were sent up the country, and the militia 
got together on the banks of the creek to prevent if possible the 
landing of the marauders. When they saw they had been fooled 
by Mr. Gibson's untimely prank, they were incensed, and he 
was threatened with bodily harm. He was a man, however, 
whom it Avas impossible to frighten, and he was allowed to depart. 

The two six-pounders he bought in Baltimore, and had them 
transported around the head of the bay. These two guns did 
good service on the 10th of August, 1813, when the British at- 



162 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

tacked St. Michaels on the Miles river side. After the war 
they were put in a disused market house on St. Mary's Square, 
and were only brought out to fire salutes on the twenty-second 
of February and the fourth of July. 

When the market house was demolished, the cannon were 
sent to the armory in Easton, where they remained until June 
9th, 18(31, when they were seized by Col. Abel Smith, by order 
of General Banks, with all the other munitions of war, and taken 
to Fort McHenry, where they are to this day. These guns did 
not belong to the state, but to the town of St. Michaels. They 
ought to be restored. They have much to do with the history - 
of that town, and should be iu its keeping. There is another 
old cannon marking a boundary line on the farm of the Eev. 
Dr. W. M. Poisal, now of Easton. The history of this piece of 
ordnance I was unable to learn, but it has doubtless played its 
part in the attack made on the town by the British. Of late 
years, St. Michaels, Oxford, Royal Oak and other shore places 
are developing into summer resorts and are crowded with visi- 
tors. The people of to-day of St. Michaels are proud of their 
town and its history. They are hospitable, take life as it 
comes, and are prosperous. 

It is in St. Michaels, it will be recalled, that Christ's Episco- 
pal Church stands, right in the very town and surrounded by its 
dead, while the ancient Methodist Church also written about 
in these pages, had its story to tell of the long ago. There are 
other churches as well, and a public high school, which is an 
ornament to any place, for, outside learning to row a boat, sail 
and swim, the children are taught that education is the most 
important factor in these days of general learning. 

Sharp's Island, though not a village, is an annex to Talbot 
county, and is now developing into a sanatorium. Once it was 
known as Bateman's Island, belonging to a kinsman of the well- 
known Bateinan family, of Easton. This was many years ago. 
In olden times Sharp\s Island was very large and imposing, and 
had its history ; but not founded on a rock, according to biblical 
injunctions, the storms and waves have gathered it in, until now 
it has not one half the acreage it had two hundred years ago. 
Improvements now iu progress will check its destruction, and it 
will doubtless become an important place as a resort and sana - 
torium, being delightfully located in every respect. 



TOWNS AND VILLAGES OF TALBOT 163 

The village of Trappe, I had almost written the word toivn, for 
it is a popular centre, is inland, a short distance back from the 
river. It has a landing for steamers on Trappe creek, and does 
a large business with Baltimore, in the grain and fruit season. 
Trappe might have gotten its name from its hospitality, for its 
people have a persuasive and kindly way of entrapping all who 
visit it, only that is not the way it did get its rather peculiar 
cognomen. Some how Trappe is like Rome, for it seems that 
all roads lead to Trappe, save the railroad. That it intends to 
have a railroad is an avowed fact, for Trappe station, on the 
Delaware and Chesapeake branch of the Pennsylvania, is four 
miles distant, and the railroad, freight, telegraph and express 
agent, all in one, thinks the station will get to be the centre of 
a mighty city. Others do not have his opinion, especially the 
people of Trappe itself. Trappe is also within reach of another 
river landing, Kirby's, on the Choptank, and Oxford and Eas- 
ton are easy drives, so that it can hold its own with water- 
privileged towns, if it is located inland, and inland in Talbot 
does not get one far from tidal shores. Two hundred years ago, 
you see I am constantly looking backward a couple of centuries 
in this land of tradition and Legendary Lore, Trappe was almost 
the centre of the Talbot settlements. White Marsh was its 
church, Oxford was its port, and from tobacco and grain fields 
about it, its revenues were drawn. About Trappe there are 
some fine old homes, and though proud of its age, it keeps up 
with the times, has good stores, is prosperous and growing. It 
boasts of a handsome Episcopal Church and rectory, a fine M. 
E. Church, pretty residences and the best of schools, those for 
colored as well as white children. Talbot takes especial care 
that the negro has the best of education. One striking feature 
of Trappe, and which is often passed by unnoticed, is a grave 
in the centre of the pavement of one of its streets , The grave 
lies parallel with the walk, its head and foot stones are well 
preserved, though dating far back, but I could not learn how 
it was that this grave came there iu the public thoroughfare. 

Not far from Trappe lies the village, also inland, of Manasses, 
where there is a church, stores and school house, and where a 
good highway leads to a landing on the Choptank. The winding 
course of this river, whence it derives its name, Choptank, may 
be thus "well illustrated : 



164 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Any one in Easton desiring a delightful afternoon and even- 
ing sail on the steamer, can drive to Dover bridge, four miles 
distant on the Choptank, take one of the several steamboats, sail 
around the river and land at Easton at nine o'clock the same 
night, having had a run of over seventy miles. At Dover is the 
drawbridge over which the people of Caroline county come to 
their metropolis---Easton. In making this delightful run, the 
steamers stop for an hour at a place, that many look upon as 
Easton 's rival, the quaint, old-time, yet up-aud-doing city of 
Cambridge. 

Ivy -town is more attractive in name than in reality, being a 
village which is long-drawn-out along the highway. About 
Ivytown cluster, or rather cling, the colored race, and many 
of its people are well-to-do farmers on a small scale. There is 
another such village of colored citizens, Uniontown, across the 
Miles river, and rather picturesque than otherwise are its world 
wide styles of architecture. Both Ivytown and Uniontown have 
their churches and schools. The inhabitants of the latter town, 
I have been told, make the proud boast that not one of its citi- 
zens was ever in jail. Other towns might take particular notice 
of the above pleasing intelligence, and learn the same method 
of keeping out of "limbo." 



CHAPTEK XXV. 



easton's environs. 




HILE a preceding chapter referred 
to a few of the towns of Talbot county, 
therejare still others, villages general- 
ly, to bestow a word upon, that are 
more or less attractive features of the 
environs of Easton, the "Hub" about 
which they centre. To the people of 
the humblest hamlet, it must be borne 
in mind, clings a special love for their 
abiding place, for "Be it ever so 
humble, there is no place' like home." The spot where human 
eyes first open to the light of day — is the one above all others 
that will be cherished. 

It is the birth-place, there where the family gathered around 
the hearth stone; and callous must be the heart that does not 
hold fond recollections of it. Days of earliest childhood, of boy- 
hood, are recalled; and those were pleasant days, fishing, sneak- 
ing off to go swimming when strictly forbidden to go near the 
water, until 3 they learned to swim, trapping birds, going to 
school, " playing hooky." "sassin' the teacher," being kept in 
"just for nothin," making eyes at another fellow's girl, taking a 
tonic of green birch- tea prescribed by the teacher, and in 
fact enjoying all the pleasures of childhood, bright with hope one 
moment, full of despair the next — such are the links that bind one 
in indissoluble bonds to memories of "Home, sweet home." En 
writing therefore of the environs of Easton, it will be well to re- 
fer to the pretty cross road villages as well as those of more pre- 
tentious growth. Windy Hill, Matthewstown, Lewistown, Mon- 
tague, and Franklinville are all villages, some of them with his- 
tories worth remembering, and whose inhabitants are of the 
right sort. Cordova is a place of more than average importance, 
there being a post office, railroad, express and railroad station 
and ha vino- its churches, schools and cheer v homes. 



166 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

Chapel is a pretty place, and I know is important enough for 
the politicians to feel great anxiety as to "how Chapel goes" in 
election times. About it are pleasant homes, and its people are 
hospitable to a degree, but then hospitality is a failing, as it may 
almost be called, of this entire Eastern Shore. 

Woodland is another railroad town, hence has ideas np to 
date. Longwood is a well located village with something of a 
preponderance of churches, but has a good store and schools, and 
a large circumference for trade. The Episcopal Chapel, rectory 
and cemetery make a very fine picture, having an "old English" 
look that is very attractive. 

Wye Mills is located near the beautiful Wye river, and the 
new railroad from Queen Anne to Baltimore, via steamer Con- 
nection at Queenstown, passes through it. The "Mills of the 
Gods" may grind slow, and the grist may be "exceeding fine," 
but Wye Mills grinds all right as regards speed and the proper 
size of the grist, and the people congratulate themselves upon 
the narrow escape their village made of not being in Talbot, for 
they are on the county line; but then Queen Anne is also a coun- 
ty to be proud of, and Wye Millites have a strong leaning that way, 

Then comes Wye Landing, a hamlet, and Skipton, a post- 
office, which claims the distinction of the first court held in 
Talbot, dating back two hundred and forty years. Skipton, 
therefore, has its history, and being on the direct line of a pro- 
posed railroad, the Easton Northern, it may yet become from 
its favorable location, the site of a flourishing town. 

Dundee is a postoffice store near the, i boundary of the Wye 
House estate. 

Claiborne is a delightfully situated place, being on the shores 
of Eastern Bay, an arm of the Chesapeake, with the Miles river 
in the rear. It is a new village with century old surroundings, 
and it claims distinction of being the terminus of the Chesapeake 
and Atlantic railroad, where connection is made with the steam- 
boat from Baltimore, and Bay Bidge on the western shore. This 
railroad runs] through Easton and Salisbury, to Ocean City. 

Tilghman's Point, the farm known as Rich Neck, will doubt- 
less yet become a very popular resort, for it borders on Claiborne. 

McDaniel is a village; situated near Claiborne, and looks very 
pretty from the railroad, yet is more attractive, when one 
goes there and meets the people. 



EASTON'S ENVIRONS 167 

Wittman and Bozinan are postoffice centres, in the midst of a 
nourishing community, while Sherwoodsville is the neck of land 
formed by the Chesapeake Bay and Harris' Creek, and on the 
line of the proposed railroad to Island City, commonly called 
Tilghman's Island. Along the shore about Sherwoodsville are 
some grand old homes and historic ground, for it was in these 
waters that Governor Claiborne figured in the first settlement of 
the Eastern Shore of Maryland. 

Island City is a place of considerable importance in more ways 
than one. It is located on the point of a neck of land, with the 
broad Chesapeake in full view to the westward and Sharp's 
Island almost due south, Poplar Island bearing north west, and 
Harris' creek, Broad river and the magnificent Choptauk to 
the eastward. It is cut off from the mainland by a bridged inlet 
that boats of a good size may pass through. Island City is visit 
ed by the Choptauk and Avon steamers, and is considerable of 
a port and haven for the valuable fleets of the Chesapeake. Its 
oyster and fishing industry is large, and what its inhabitants 
don't know about boats and boat building, no one else need try 
to learn. Here are built the fleetest of canoes and buckeyes, 
deadrise skiffs, sloops and schooners, not only for trading craft 
but for sport as well. Tilghman's Island boats are crafts that 
can show a clean pair of heels to almost anything afloat driven 
by sail power. There are good stores in Island City, it is a 
thriving place, something of a summer resort, and its churches 
and schools are well attended, but the children are taught that 
the alphabet runs, B-O-A-T, and the good Christians there hope 
they will find just such a pleasant place beyond the grave. Isl- 
and City is distant from Washington City forty -five miles via 
Bay Bidge, from Baltimore fifty- eight, from Easton thirty miles. 
It has a good harbor and ideal cruising waters. Suburbs of Island 
City on the shore are Tilghman and Fairbank, and thus we come 
to the mainland shore end of Talbot County, with its landscape 
and water views presenting on the map the appearance of a 
piece of lace work, yet in reality as substantial as the Bock of 
Gibraltar. There are three towns on the Baltimore, Chesapeake 
and Atlantic railroad that, as neighbors of Easton may be men- 
tioned here — Preston, Salisbury and Berlin. 

The nearest to Easton is Preston, near the Choptauk, in Caro- 
line county, a thriving little town, and very prettily located. 



168 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

The people of Preston are energetic and refined, and keep well in 
toneh with, the times, while their town has sent forth men, who 
have made names for themselves known the world over. 

Salisbury in Wicomico county is an old town, as years go, and 
yet it has the appearance of a new and booming place. It has a 
naturally beautiful site, lying in a fork of the Wicomico river, 
and grew from a landing, about which in 1782, by an act of the 
Maryland Assembly, authority was given to purchase fifteen 
acres of land to be laid out as a town under the name of Salis- 
bury. Being in the very centre of the fruit belt, it naturally 
would prosper, but aside from its good situation, Salisbury has 
a most progressive and up-to-date class of citizens, who devote 
their energy and money without stint to making their town a 
delightful home that wins admiration abroad. All improve- 
ments there, water works, ice factories, gas, electric lights, tele- 
phone and public buildings are of a modern and substantial kind. 
Its streets and avenues are well paved, shelled, and kept in fine 
condition. The private residences of Salisbury are particularly 
attractive, its stores of the best, and its trade, import and export 
large. Many of Maryland's old families dwell in arid around 
the town, and a number of fine farms are within easy drive. In 
addition to her two lines of railroad, Salisbury is reached by 
the Wicomico river steamboat line, and in summer particularly 
is an attractive resort. 

Berlin lies in Worcester county, situated almost within sound 
of the Atlantic surf. The town is a railroad centre, and is new 
in appearance from the fact that it was visited by a most disas- 
trous fire in 1895, which destroyed a large part of the business 
section, and many residences. The Eastern Shore is waking up, 
there are few of its one time dreamy old villages, that will not 
soon be within sound of the locomotive's shrill whistle, and 
where the railroad, the iron veins of the country, run, busy life 
follows as the daylight does- the darkness. 

Times have changed since the long ago, when malaria — then 
known as fever and ague — was prevalent in Talbot. Proper 
drainage, cultivation and sanitary methods have made this sec- 
tion as healthful and as free from disease as any other place on 
the Atlantic sea- board. It should be borne in mind that from 
reliable health statistics published by Dr. Chancellor of Balti- 
more, Eoyal Oak was found to be the centre of a circle of ten 



EASTON ENVIRONS 169 

miles radius, which embraced the most healthful spot iu the 
country, taking' the death rate to the average thousand of popu- 
lation, which was found to be phenomenally small. In truth 
deaths are few and far between here, and recently a grave dig- 
ger of Easton on being asked if times were not dull with him, 
replied, "Very, I have not buried a living soul this month." 




CHAPTER XXVI. 

MEN OF MARK. 

EGIXNING with the present century, 
there have been men in Talbot, who 
have won fame in their separate walks 
in life, be it afloat, ashore, in stales 
manship, literature, or in the church, 
or as military men. Such have added 
lustre to Talbot's escutcheon, and their 
names, if not all engraven on tablets of 
marble will be treasured in the hearts 
of the generations that follow. Ad- 
miral Franklin Buchanan was born in 1800 of distinguished 
parentage and entered the U. S. Xavy as midshipman in 1815, 
on the frigate Java, under Commodore Oliver F. Perry. From 
first to last he distinguished himself in his nautical career, and 
was the first American officer to place his foot on Japanese soil. 
In 1855, he became a captain, and was the first commandant of 
the U. S. Xaval Academy, which he established upon a success - 
ful foundation. In 1861, he was in command of the Washing- 
ton navy yard, but resigned to go with the south, where his 
record won him fame throughout the world as the daring com- 
mander of the first iron clad — the Merrimac His later career 
was a brilliant one, and after the war ended, he returned to 
"The Rest," his beautiful home in Talbot county, near Easton, 
on the shores of Miles river. In 1835, Admiral Buchanan mar- 
ried the third daughter of Governor Edward Lloyd of "Wye 
House." He died on May 11th, 1871, at "The Rest," in the sev- 
enty-fourth year of his age. 

Governor Philip Francis Thomas was born in Easton in 1810; 
was educated at the Easton academy, studied law, admitted to 
the bar in 1831, elected to the legislature in 1838, congressional 
representative in 1839, elected Governor of Maryland in 1847, in 
1850, comptroller of the treasury, collector of the port of Balti- 
more in 1853, in 1860 was appointed secretary of the treasury in 
the cabinet of President Buchanan This he resigned and return. 



MEN OF MARK 171 

edto his home in Talbot during the war. In 1868, he was made 
U. S. Senator from Maryland, but Avas not allowed to take his 
seat on the plea of disloyalty, so entered upon the practice of 
law in Easton, and held important offices up to a short time be- 
fore his death. 

Judge H. H. Goldsborongh is a native of Talbot, and descend- 
ed from the old and honorable family of that name. He was ed- 
ucated in Easton, and at St. John's College, Annapolis. Ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1841, was auditor of the court in 1848, and 
held that office until 1861 ; he was chosen state senator, and 
was a member of the legislature, of which he was president at 
the breaking oiit of the war, whose influence did much to keep 
Maryland in the Union. When Easton was made the head 
quarters of a military district, Mr. Goldsborongh was appoint- 
ed brigadier general of volunteers, and placed in command of 
this point. It was through Mr. Goldsborongh that Maryland a- 
bolished slavery before Mr. Lincoln's emancipation proclamation. 

Dr. Solomon Martin Jenkins was one of Talbot's distinguished 
physicians of his time. Born in Easton in 1803, he went 
through the public schools with honor to himself. Determined 
to receive a classical education, he entered Harvard university . 
Deciding upon medicine as a profession, Dr. Jenkins devoted 
himself to its study, and entered the University of Pennsylvania 
from which well known institution he received his degree. Re- 
turning to Easton he begun practice, and was known in a very 
short while for his superior skill in medicine, and as a man of 
brilliant talents. In 1818, when ouly forty- five years of age, he 
died, and great indeed was his loss to the community, where he 
had won fame and popularity. 

Hon, Samuel Hambleton was born in Easton in 1812, whose 
father had been for many years a member of the legisla- 
ture from Talbot county, and held other important state offices. 
His grandfather was a captain in the Revolutionary army. Hon. 
Samuel Hambleton was educated at the Easton academy; was 
admitted to the Talbot bar in 1833, elected to the House of Dele- 
gates, then state senator, was appointed colonel of calvary in 1845 
by Governor Pratt, was president of the Chesapeake and Ohio 
canal, and in 1870 was elected to Congress on the democratic 
ticket, and reelected to the Forty Fourth Congress. In 1838 Col. 
Hambleton married Miss Elizabeth Parrott of Talbot, and had 



172 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

two children , a son and a daughter. The son served in theCon- 
federate army during the civil war. 

On May 30th, 1890, there passed away in Easton, Dr. Samuel 
A. Harrison, a man of distinction in more than one calling, a 
man whose loss was a great one to the community in which he 
dwelt, his profession and to the literary world. Dr. Harrison 
was the son of A. B. Harrison and Eleanor Spencer, and was 
born at "Clay's Hope," Talbot, in 1822. He was educated un- 
der a private tutor, and graduated at Dickinson College in 1840. 
Entering upon I lie study of medicine, he received his diploma 
from the University of Maryland, begun to practice in St. 
Michaels, then moved to St. Louis; but in 1851 returned to 
Talbot and became a planter, for he was a devoted lover of agri- 
culture in all its branches. He declined the nomination for 
state senator, but accepted the appointment as president of the 
county School Board, for which by education he was so well 
fitted, and proved himself a most efficient and untiring official. 
Beturning to his agricultural pursuits, Dr. Harrison settled up- 
on his fine estate, "Woodstock," on Miles river, and devoted 
himself to the management of his property, and to literature, 
in which he proved himself an author of superior ability. His 
literary taste ran mostly in preserving the traditions and annals 
of Talbot, where his scholarly mind found so much of interest 
in its history and people. He was an untiring worker with his 
pen, seeming to rejoice in all he did in a literary way, showing- 
hiss uperiority in all subjects pertaining to history, rhetoric, 
logic and philosophy. He was devoted to the improvement of 
Talbot, and was an earnest laborer to that end. Of broad and 
intellectual mind and of amiable disposition, he was a peer a- 
mong his fellows and his aim in life was the betterment of man- 
kind in every particular. He left to posterity a vast amount of 
literary work, in the field of Talbot's history, and his search 
for the truth was untiring. At the time of his death Dr. Har- 
rison willed that his writings should go to the Maryland Histor- 
ical Society, realizing their value to that institution ; for it had 
been his intention to prepare a book of Talbot, and no one was 
better fitted for such a work than he. His widow, who was Miss 
Martha Denny of Talbot, and two daughters, Mrs. Horace Noble 
of Baltimore, and Mrs. Oswald Tilghman, survive him, the home 
of the latter being "Foxley Hall" in Easton. 



MEN OF MARK 173 

James Lloyd Martin was an influential citizen of Talbot, and 
a distinguished member of the bar. The death of iew of Tal- 
bot's sous created such a void in society and professional life, as 
did that of Mr. Martin. He came of highly respectable parent- 
age, his father having been Edward Martin of Island Creek 
Neck, and a nephew of Governor Daniel Martin. Born in 181.5 
he was educated at theEaston Academy, studied law, and was 
admitted to the bar of Talbot in 1887, and elected in 1840 to the 
House of Delegates. He was an elector for Breckenridge and 
Lowe. He was also appointed Deputy Attorney General, States 
Attorney for Talbot in 1871, in all of which offices he served 
with honor. In 1864, he was made judge of the judicial dis- 
trict of Talbot and Caroline counties, and was prominent in the 
affairs of this state. 

General Tench Tilghman was born at his estate of Plimhim- 
mon in 1810; he was the son of Tench Tilghman, grandson of 
Col. Tench Tilghman of Washington's staff, and great-grandson 
of Matthew Tilghman of Revolutionary fame. A graduate of 
West Point, he was an officer in the Black Hawk war, but re- 
signing his commission, he returned to his estate in Talbot and 
devoted himself to agriculture and building up this part of the 
country. He devoted much of his time, energies and means to 
bringing a railroad to Talbot, and was made president of the 
Maryland and Delaware railroad, which he originated. Devot 
ed also to the cause of education, Gen. Tilghman did much to 
establish the Maryland Military Academy at Oxford in the 
forties, and through his instrumentality the new parish of Trin- 
ity at Oxford was established, and the foundation was laid of 
the present handsome stone church. General Tilghman married 
the daughter of Hon. John Leeds Kerr, and after her death he 
married a daughter of Robert Lloyd Tilghman of "Hope." He 
died in 1874. 

One whose death was a great loss to Easton thirty years ago, 
was Dr. Edward Jenkins, a man whose popularity was unbound- 
ed with all classes of his felloAv -citizens. Honored by all and high- 
ly esteemed in his profession, Dr. Jenkins was a man of learning, 
cultivation and much experience, for he had held for years the 
position of surgeon in the U. S. Navy, had traveled extensively, 
and arisen to eminence as a practitioner. Born in Talbot in 1816 
and descending from a most worthy ancestry, Dr. Jenkins after 



174 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

receiving a fine education, determined to devote his life to medi- 
cine; with him its practice was a work of love and ambition as 
well as a profession. Dr. Jenkins died in 1865, and his descend- 
ants are living in Easton, his two sons, Edward and Thomas H. 
representing the drug firm of Dawson and Jenkins. 

As the Eight Eev. Henry Champlin Lay, D. D. has been 
so intimately connected with this county, it is well to make 
mention of him among Talbot's men of note. Born in Virginia 
in; 1823, his father being a merchant of Eichmond, he was edu- 
cated _at the University of Virginia. Graduated as master of 
arts, he became a private tutor, then studied for the Episcopal 
ministry at the Alexandria Theological Seminary, was ordained 
deacon, and removed to Alabama. Was ordained priest at 
Huntsville, Alabama, in 1848, and in 1857 Hobart College made 
him Doctor of Divinity. He was made missionary bishop of 
the southwest in 1859. He was in the south during the war, 
and did much to unite the divided church after the struggle 
ended. He was made bishop, and through his influence Easton 
was made a cathedral town. Bishop Lay was also a writer of 
much force, and his writings were of a popular character. He 
died in Easton universally beloved by all who knew him. 

The late Ormond Hammond of "Solitude" comes of Scotch 
lineage, his family having been prominent in Scotland. His 
ancestors came to America several generations ago, and settled 
in Maryland, where they became large land-holders and were 
influential in the social and political life of their time, Judge 
Hammond, as he is better known, was bom in 182 5, was educa- 
ted in Baltimore and Georgetown, intending to enter upon 
a professional life. Abandoning this intention, he begun a 
business career in Baltimore, but marrying, he removed to the 
beautiful home of "Solitude," where he lived for fifty years. 
He was prominent in the history of Talbot socially and po- 
litically, being a man of sterling character, noble "nature, un- 
bounded hospitality and of great popularity. Judge Hammond 
was a political leader in Talbot, and was honored by being sent 
to the state senate. He did much for Talbot's agricultural de- 
velopment, its schools and general advancement. The high of- 
fice of judge of the Orphans' Court was a position he filled with 
honor to himself and his party, until appointed by President 
Cleveland a sub- treasurer of the United States, which posi- 



MEN OF MARK 175 

tiou he held at the time of his death. Judge Hammond died in 
1897, and left a void in Talbot hard to fill, for he was "beloved 
by all who knew him. He left a large family of children, Mrs. 
Hammond having died some years ago, and "Solitude" is now 
the home of his daughters, his sons being in business in Balti- 
more. Judge Hammond's wife was Mary M. Cox, daughter of 
Rev. J. and Mary M. Cox, and a sister of Lieutenant Governor 
Cox of Maryland. 

Gen. Lloyd Tilghman was born at Eich Neck, Talbot, and 
was educated at West Point. He served through the Mexican 
War, and joined the Confederate army within the first year of 
the war. At Fort Henry, February 6th, 1862, he held the 
fort until nearly half his gunners were killed or wounded. 
When Footetook the fort, he had as prisoners General Tilgh- 
man and staff, and sixty men. Gen. Tilghman remained prison- 
er a few months, and was exchanged. In the the fall of 1862, 
he joined the army of the west then in Mississippi, and was 
put in command of the first brigade, Loring's division. At 
the battle of Corinth he took a prominent part, and in all sub- 
sequent operations of that army under Van Dorn, and { after- 
wards Pemberton, he bore a conspicuous part up to the time of 
his death. General Tilghman was killed by a shell on the even- 
ing of the 16th of May, 1863, on the battlefield of Baker's creek, 
or Champion Hill, Mississippi. General Tilghman left Bich 
Neck when he was a young man, and went to Baltimore to live. 
His son visited Bich Neck hotel last July, being the first time 
he had ever been there. Bich Neck mansion was built by James 
Tilghman, the father of Lloyd Tilghman. 

Colonel Thomas Hughlett, one of Talbot's most honored citi- 
zens, came from a long line of prominent ancestors, his father 
being William Hughlett, the owner of "Warwick Manor" in 
Dorchester county, a county by the way, that has given Mary- 
land many distinguished sons. Colonel Hughlett was born May 
5, 1826, at ' 'Warwick Manor," received his earlier education from 
private tutors, and attended college at Princeton, after which he 
returned to Maryland and devoted himself to planting. Later 
he married a daughter of William Harrison of Dorchester county, 
and making his home in Easton, entered earnestly into the po- 
litical and social life of Talbot. Elected to the responsible po- 
sition of Clerk of the Court, he held it up to the time of his 



176 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




RESIDENCE OF EDWIN SINCLAIR, OXFORD, 




CITY VISITORS ENJOYING THE SALT BATH, IN THE MILES RIVER- 



MEN OP MARK 177 

death, March 31st, 1896. Colonel Hughlett was a genial and 
courteous gentleman, popular with all, and his death was a great 
loss to the community in which he lived. 

Commodore Charles Lowndes, I T . S. N., is another of Talbot's 
sous in whom the state holds great pride, and his beautiful old 
liome on the Miles river is today poiuted out to strangers as one of 
the ancient manor houses of long ago. The house is now the pro- 
perty of ( tolonel Charles Chipley, who has done much to improve 
it, yet it still reserves its old time attractive features. Entering 
the navy at fifteen, Commodore Lowndes went to sea as a mid- 
shipman and learned his profession by the real hard knocks and 
modus operandi in vogue in those days, and which used to bring- 
out all that there was in a man. He was sent on foreign cruises 
ami won his way up to higher rank by downright worth, and a 
heroism to do and dare all he had to face in the line of duty. Ap- 
pointed to the command of thesloop-of-war Germantown, twenty 
guns, he was ordered to Mexico during the war of 1846-1848, 
and later commanded the flagship "Hartford," as her captain, at 
the time that the greart Farragut was in command, and the voy- 
age was being made to the East Indies. Having been nearly a 
half century in the navy, Commodore Lowndes was promoted 
and retired in 1861, having married Miss Sarah Scott Lloyd, 
daughter of Governor Lloyd. He made his home at "The An- 
chorage," on Miles river, and took rest from his labors after a 
service well done. His ashes now lie in the family burying 
ground at Wye House. 

■ Oue of the heroes of the '-'lost cause" who lost his life under 
the stars and bars of the south was General Charles S. Winder, 
a native of Talbot. Born in 1829, at the fine old home of 
"Knightly" a few miles from East on, then the property of his 
family, Charles S. Winder, as are almost all Talbot-born boys, 
was a good sailor before he was in his teens ; and yet, raised on 
salt water as he was, he chose the life of a soldier rather than 
that of a naval officer. Educated in his earlier years in Talbot 
under a tutor's care, he later went to St. John's College, and 
afterwards received an appointment to West Point Military 
Academy, in 1846. He graduated there, with honors, in 1850, 
after a four years' course and became a lieutenant in the third ar- 
tillery and captain in the ninth infantry. He was ordered to the 
frontier,, where! hetsaw hard service against, the Indians, then 



178 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

most troublesome in their warfare against the soldiers and set- 
tlers. Stationed in California, he was on a troop ship, that 
was wrecked on the Pacific coast, and showed the hero, when 
only the officers and a few of the men could be taken off in 
tbe boats, by saying: 

"I remain with my men to die with them." 

Later he was rescued with his men, and just in time, by 
the English vessel ''Antarctic," taken to Liverpool, whither the 
ship was bound, then returning to the United States, when he 
was stationed at Fort Vancouver, "Washington Territory. Of 
just such a nature was General Winder, self-sacrificing, brave 
and generous, that he won favor as he did praises. A Mary- 
lander, when the war came, he cast his lot with the South, re- 
signing his commission in the United States army. He was 
at once made a captain, and his ability and courage took him up 
the grade of promotion rapidly, for early in 1862, he became a 
brigadier general. He handled his command well, his brigade 
forming one of Stonewall Jackson's division, and met his early 
death at the battle of Cedar Mountain, August 9th, 1862, while 
in the act of placing his artillery in a desperate duel that was 
going on with the light guns. General Winder married Miss 
Alice Lloyd of Wye House, in 1855, and his widow and son now 
reside in Talbot. This ended his brilliant career, while yet a 
very young man, but his memory is warmly cherished by all in 
Talbot. When the camp of Confederate veterans was formed in 
Easton a year ago, it was given the name of the "Charles S. 
Winder Camp." 

Thomas Chamberlaine Nicols was born in Easton, June 28th, 
1831, and dates back through a long line of honorable ancestry. 
The first of the family to settle in Talbot was the Eev. Henry 
McolsofSt. Michaels parish, wdio came over from England 
where he had graduated at Oxford university, as has been told 
in a sketch of this really great and good man, whose strange 
epitaph is also given. He lies buried within the St. Michaels 
Churchyard with other rectors of the ancient parish. William 
Mcols, the son of Eev. Henry Mcols and his wife, a Miss Eliza- 
beth Rolle, married the daughter of Honorable Samuel Cham- 
berlaine, whose wife was Henrietta Maria Lloyd. The subject of 
this short memoir was related also by kindred ties and by mar- 



WEN OF MARK 179 

riage to the Robinson, Groldsborough, and other historic families 
of Talbot. Graduated in Easton, Mr Thomas 0. Mcols went to 
Philadelphia, and early in life entered upon a business career 
with success. He then returned to Easton, and once more begun 
a mercantile life for himself with eminent success, for he built 
up in a few years the large hardware house so well and favor- 
ably known in Talbot, and now under the management of his 
son, Mr. Edward T. Nicols. Mr. T. C. ISTicols married Miss 
Margaret Wroth, daughter of Dr, Peregrine Wroth, once presi- 
dent of Washington College, Md., and left a family of three, his 
daughters Mrs. H. M. Hardcastle and Miss Margaret Eugenia, 
and Edward T. Meols, of Easton. 



XX VII. 



THE STRANGE STORY OF THE VIU.A. 




HE Miles river, for thus the St. 
Michaels has slipped its consonants, 
is one ol' those broad salt water 
streams, the home of the oyster, 
oral), terrapin, and wild ducks, that 
pierce the peninsula of the Eastern 
Si. ore of Maryland, until there is 
scarcely as much land as water. Near 
its upper course a tongue of land 
thrusts itself into the river 7 with a 
tasteful boat-house and pier, near 
which a yacht lies moored. Above the grove of trees, a square 
red tower, capped with Avhite, indicates the site of "The Villa." 
As with families, so it is with land. Some tracts undergo a 
quiet humdrum existence from century to century, while others 
are as full of affairs as a bailiff. This tongue of laud, with its 
neighboring estate, is one that seems to be inextricably woven 
into the fate and fortunes of meu. In 1661 occurred in Bostou 
the memorable trial of Wenlock Christison, for the crime of be- 
ing a Quaker, of which the quaint old volumes of Besse give so 
full a story. Having been exiled, he returned to Bostou to pro- 
test against the murder of a iellow Quaker named Leddra, 
where he was seized by a mob, headed by the Rev. Seabury 
Cottou, club iu hand. Christison had a robust tongue of his 
own, and after his trial was, with other Quakers, icondemned 
to death by Governor Endicott. The day before the execution 
came the pardon of the King, and the prisoners were released > 
the Governor being obliged to satisfy himself with whipping 
two of the men through the streets. 

Wenlock Christison then emigrated to Maryland, taking ad- 
vantage of the religious toleration extended by the Calverts. 
Here, in 1661, he obtained a grant of land from Lord Balti- 
more, including this tongue on which '-The Villa" stands. He 
became one of the substantial men of the colony, and took part 
in the House of Burgesses, of which he was a member. 



LAND OF LEOENDARY LORE 



181 




182 .LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

The descendants of the Christisons here dwelt in peace and 
prosperity, and in time the estate fell into the hands of Isaac 
Atkinson, who had married into the family of Christison, and 
their house of old English bricks remains in part upon the land 
until this day. After the Christisons had married, borne, and 
died, the family gradually dwindled away, and the estate pass- 
ed into the hands of Richard France, the lottery king of Mary- 
land. The state recognized and legalized the lottery business, 
and Richard France waxed rich and prosperous. He built a 
palace, (the word is used advisedly,) on Mount Vernon square, 
Baltimore, and bought an estate on the Eastern Shore. Here 
b.e built ''The Villa," with its red tower overtopping the trees. 
In magnificence nothing in the vicinity rivalled it. There were 
winding walks and fountains, rich vases and marble statuary, 
glass houses and everything else that money could buy to com- 
plete a gentleman's country seat. It was the wonder of all the 
country roundabout. 

So enviable was the prosperity of Richard France that a man 
named Broadbent set up an illicit lottery, known as the "Lot- 
tery Policy Company," which in time made such inroads 
into Richard France's business, that he was forced to admit 
Broadbent into partnership. Then Broadbent also waxed rich 
and prosperous, and built a superb place beyond the limits of 
Charles street, a place now owned by the Perrotts. 

But the conscience of Maryland had become tender. In time 
the lottery license issued to Richard France was revoked. He 
then, with Broadbent, went to Delaware, which being a small 
state, he with great simplicity bought up the legislature. This 
was not in each case a private sale. One of the members also 
had a tender conscience. For him Richard France built a church, 
where his constituents worshipped for many a year. 

Then Delaware in its turn became sensitive to the enormity 
of the lottery, and revoked the license of Richard France. 
Meanwhile Broadbent had been plundering the business with 
rapid hand. It became necessary to buy up other states. In 
this effort Richard France failed. Baffled and plundered, when 
the lottery king came to take stock of himself and his belong- 
ings, he found he was in debt everywhere and a ruined man. 
Going back to Delaware in the desperation of his affairs, his 
person was seized for debt, and he died there in prison, a pauper. 



STRANGE STORY OP THE VILLA 183 

In the wreck "The Villa" was sold to Henry May, of Balti- 
more. This was before the civil war. In his hands the career 
of the place was continued. It was still the finest place for 
miles about, and a&ain renewed the scenes of hospitality and of 
luxury, which distinguished the old Maryland days. Then the 
war broke out. With great shrewdness Henry May immediate- 
ly invested his fortune in gold. His broker was a banker 
named Carson in Baltimore. All went well until the surren- 
der of General Lee, when gold declined, and swept Henry May 
along with unfulfilled margins. But between him and ruin 
stood the broker Carson. He, abandoned by May, went down 
in the crash. In vain he called upon his client to protect him. 
A suit was brought and, against the feelings and temper of the 
community, it was Avon by Henry May. The broken Carson 
never recovered, but died a few months after, literally of a 
broken heart. 

Henry May returned to Baltimore, but his old friends turned 
their faces. An isolated, ostracized man, he returned to "The 
Villa," and in a few months he, too, died, it is said, out of pure 
chagrin. "The Villa" was then bought by a young man named 
Randall, who, with his young wife, more than revived its old 
reputation for luxurious hospitality. Ihe fun was fast and fur- 
ious, and with it slipped away the great fortune to which Ran- 
dall had fallen heir. In a few years, utterly ruined, young 
Randall was obliged to give up "The Villa," which was then 
bought by Mr. Brady, of New York, Mr. Brady had none of 
the qualifications for a country life. He was the owner of a 
superb place, with its walks and fountains, its vases, its marble 
gods and goddesses half clothed in foliage. That fact seemed to 
content him. 

After a time there came a rumor, told about mysteriously by 
the negroes, of a yacht flitting about the river, and of a strange 
man, bearded and old, seen by chance, but furtively keeping 
out of the way. So isolated is "The Villa," the tongue of land 
stretching out far into the water, and the gates as usual kept 
locked, that there could be no better place for concealment. The 
rumor spread further, and was confirmed in details by the 
curious negroes. Then came the news of "Boss" Tweed's escape 
from New York. Some people remembered that in the earlier 

days of the occupant of "The Villa," he had been heard to say 



184 LAND OF LE&ENDARY LORE 

he knew or had met "Boss" Tweed. So the rumor grew, and was 
confirmed in the belief of the people of the neighborhood, that 
the strange owner of "The Villa" had now his chance to return 
the favors of his old friend, and possibly benefactor, and what 
better place could a hunted old man find ? To complete the tale, 
a party of officers descended upon the place, but whatever 
might have been going on there, nobody was found by them. 

But the story was believed, and contributed to the interest in 
the place and its changing fortunes that every one feels. With- 
out further knowledge than crystallized rumor affords, "The 
Villa' ' is pointed out to the stranger as the place where Tweed 
lay hid. when the newspapers believed him in Florida. The story 
is plausible, because he could be so easily removed by yacht 
down the Chesapeake and off to Cuba. It was here Tweed lay 
concealed, and from here he was taken away by night by the 
son of a prominent Democratic politician of Maryland, who was 
once the political ally of the dethroned boss. The story is too 
direct for doubt, since it is on the authority of one of the prin- 
cipals of that midnight adventure, the young man himself, and 
through unquestioned channels. 

"The Villa" is still a show place with its past grandeur and 
memories. In 1895 the property passed into the hands of Dr. 
George F. Mckerson, who sold it to Mrs. Fleming, of Washing- 
ton. Under the management of Mr. H. H. Balch, of New 
York, it is now the home of the Maryland Nautical Academy. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



A SAIL ALONG CHESAPEAKE'S EASTERN SHORE. 




ES ; they's right many ducks yet ; 
but tain't like 't used to he, when 
you could walk down to bit of a 
blind before breakfast and knock 
over a dozen or so in an hour." The 
speaker, clad in store clothes for a 
visit to Baltimore, sat on the forward 
deck of a Chesapeake Bay steamer, 
the autumn sunlight falling warm 
upon his figure, the vessel's nose 
pointing nor' nor' west, her sides roll- 
ing gently through an arc of twenty degrees, the blue waters 
laughing on every side, and long, hissing swells in her wake. 
Xo other body of water in the United States, not even Long 
Island sound or the great lakes, has exactly the same sort of 
of local commerce that distinguishes Chesapeake Bay. There 
is a broad navigable stream opening into the bay at every few 
miles on either shore, many of them nameless on ordinary maps, 
but all of them bristling with public wharves, and each visited 
once, twice, or thrice a week by a steamboat trading with Balti- 
more. To make the voyage on one of these creek traders going 
well down toward the point of the peninsula is to see an absorb- 
ingly picturesque and interesting panorama of life in the lower 
bay, and to encounter the Eastern Shoreman in unstudied sim- 
plicity on his native soil. 

The so-called creeks of the Chesapeake would be spoken of as 
rivers elsewhere, though many of them, especially on the Eastern 
Shore, are really estuaries, sometimes a mile wide at the en- 
trance, and rapidly narrowing to swift streams of fresh water 
that intersect inland roads in every direction, and when especial 
ly high tides come, Hood wide areas of lowland. A creek of this 
sort sometimes has a public wharf every mile of its navigable 
length. The wharves lie first on one bank and then on the 
other, and it is the business of the steamboat to make each 



186 LA.ND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

wharf in turn, kinking from one to the other, and sometimes 
waiting patiently for water enough to navigate. Eacii wharf 
has a freight shed, great or small, and on the landward side a 
country store containing every article that a reasonable Eastern 
Shoreman can desire, ihe storekeeper is also the wharf owner, 
as he is oftentimes the local banker, postmaster, fire insurance 
agent, and what not else. The arrival of the steamboat is the 
event of the day. Half the neighborhood awaits her on the 
wharf. Light carts drawn by a Chincoteague pony, a mule, or 
a bullock and laden at the season with barrelled sweet potatoes 
await the coming of the boat. Here and there a belated team- 
ster is seen driving his mule through the rising tide toward the 
wharf, while every sort of craft known to the region is either 
tied up at the wharf or making all sail toward it from the 
neighboring coves. As soon as the vessel is tied up, and the 
gang plank is thrown out, a dozen deck hands, muscular strap- 
ping negroes of demoniac energy, seize their small iron trucks 
and wheel off at a run whatever can be wheeled. As soon as the 
cargo is off, the negroes turn to with unrelenting energy and 
load potatoes. Each truck follows close upon the heels of the 
truckman in front, and there is a merry jingle of iron accompan- 
ied by a negro chorus. It is the business of every truckman to 
know his own truck and keep out of every other man's way 
without warning. The deckhand who cannot run his truck 
within a quarter of an inch of another deckhand does not earn 
his forty dollars a month, and is not likely to remain long in the 
business. The deckhand who cannot carry out four empty 
barrels at a trip is equally unsuited to the trade. The Eastern 
Shore potato barrel is made at Baltimore of stout hardwood 
staves, and has no head and no provision for putting in a head, 
because potatoes are put into the barrel until they bulge out at 
the top, and are then covered with burlap, secured under a 
hoop. 

You can learn more about sweet potatoes in a ten- minute talk 
at an Eastern Shore wharf than in a whole volume of reading 
matter. From September to May oysters and sweet potatoes 
are the talk of the Eastern Shore. The latter sell at fifty cents 
per barrel in the early autumn, and the prudent Eastern Shore- 
man always "banks" fifteen or twenty bushels in leaves and 
sand to be sent to Baltimore in mid-winter wiien prices are up. 



A SAIL ALONG CHESAPEAKE'S EASTERN SHORE 187 

You hear at the wharf every sort of maxim as to the treatment 
of the sweet potato. "Never let the frost touch your vines while 
the potatoes are in the ground," is one motto ; another is "don't 
let stared potatoes get within twenty-five degrees of freezing 
point." 

Sometimes as the steamer, outward bound to the bay, leaves 
the wharf, a long, narrow, strongly built scow, manned by two 
or three negroes, is taken in tow. This is the boat of the pound 
fishermen. It is ordinarily driven by two long and enormously 
heavy oars, and is steered when in tow with one such oar, the 
steersman giving his whole strength to the business and the oar 
bending like a wand beneath the strain. The pound fishermen 
are a hardy and peculiar race, whose home is most of the time 
upon the waters of the bay. Few bodies of water teem with 
fish as does the Chesapeake, and a Chesapeake fishing shore 
sometimes rents at $1,500 a year. The pound fisherman pays 
no rent, for he sinks light piles in the bottom of the bay, and 
constructs a sort of trap, that shall fish for him while he sleeps. 
The pound is "fished" ordinarily at least once a day, and the 
great scows lie alongside, while the fish are drawn out. Every 
sort of creature that swims the Chesapeake is found in the pound 
net, and the sight revealed when 1 he pound fisherman comes to a 
wharf with his catch is a comprehensive lesson in marine natur- 
al history. As the vessel moves up or down the creeks, especi- 
ally at early morning, the passengers see here and there the 
wavering sail of a canoe as it puts out from the shelter of a cape 
fronting some small dwelling ashore . The canoe is to the East- 
ern Shore man what the buggy is to inlanders. It is his craft 
for all weathers and all journeys, and every sort of business. 
He goes to market, calls on his neighbors, and sails to church 
in his canoe. Before there were steamboats his ancestors went 
to Baltimore either in their canoes or in the canoe's big first 
cousin, the buckeye. Small pickaninnies manage the canoe with 
the ease of old sailors, and one commonly sees at the wharf half 
a dozen canoes, each with a little black boy for steersman, who 
does the work of an adult as he begs his father to buy ginger 
nuts at the store. The stranger unaccustomed to the prolific 
waters of the Chesapeake is astonished to see the waiting boy 
idly dipping his tongs into the water, and drawing up a doz- 
en oysters at a time within six feet of the wharf. 



188 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Far down the bay features ashore and afloat become more 
strongly characteristic of the south. Tiny, ancient, round-top- 
ped windmills survive here and there, their shingles a century 
old, and their sails long since rotted away. The shores smile 
with green pastures, and everywhere there are signs of a new- 
awakening, neat fences and line new Queen Anne cottages with all 
the effects of unrestricted paint . Here and there a dignified 
old mansion of an earlier period shows against the shy, great 
chimneys that speak of ample fireplaces and the good cheer of a 
generation gone by. Some passenger always knows the land- 
marks and can point out this or that old plantation house and 
tell its story, usually one of failing fortunes and humbled pride, 
for the old slave holding aristocracy has gi\ en place to a new 
generation of men who cultivate oysters for the market, sell 
terrapin instead of eating them, and buy no acre of land that 
does not promise profit. The kindly climate smiles now upon a 
busier race than of old, and luxuries that were once a matter of 
course on the table of every planter now go to feed the gourmets 
of Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, and Xew York. Out 
in the bay the pound fishermen are busy, and in every cove the 
oystermen show waving tong handles. Here and there, perch 
ed high on piles half a mile from shore, is a little watch house 
guarding private oyster beds. Ducks and geese, singly, in 
pairs, and in bunches, as the phrase is for a small Hock, are 
always in sight, swimming or on the wing, while gulls and os- 
preys are seeking their prey. About the mast flutters a butter- 
fly, miles of salts water between him and his accustomed sweets. 
The menhaden steamers pass from time to time, and the dullest 
nostril scents the fertilizer factory, while it lies, deceptively 
beautiful, on the horizon. 

When night comes and the hardy Long Island captain, almost 
made over into an Eastern Shoreman by thirty years upon the 
Chesapeake, is gazing seaward over the forward deck, where a 
silent negro paces on the lookout, the warm and lighted saloon 
takes on the cozy air of a floating home. The men sit about 
spinning long yarns of ducking thirty years ago, and of terrapin 
in the days when hungry northerns had not put up the price, 
while a young woman with no voice in particular sings popular 
airs to her own accompaniment on the piano, and now and then 
she slips out on deck to watch the moonlit panorama of the bay. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



NOTES OF INTEREST. 




HE caption of this chapter has some 
what of a business ring, and might 
be interpreted by the reader of 
practical turn of mind as savoringof 
the busy mart of life, if he may the 
better understand the writer's inten- 
tion by such a const ruction of the 
sketch that follows, it were well 
for him to know that these "notes" 
will be "presented" to debtor and 
creditor alike, with the hope that 
that they may ''bear interest" sufficient to justify the record :: 
of some early events "in Easton's history. But "sentiment" 
and not "settlement" is my theme, and for a time at least 
may we indulge onr fancies in the poet's dream : 
"How often have I paused'on every charm— 
The sheltered cot, the cultivated farm, 
The never-failing brook, the busy mill, 
The decent church that topped the neighboring hill, 
The hawthorn bush, with seats beneath the shade, 
For talking age, and whispering lovers made." 

Why — gentle reader- -do yon smile at this sentimental open- 
ing of a chapter that possesses the prosy name of "notes of in- 
terest ?" From yonr acquaintance with this Eastern Sho', do you 
think that with the rustle of its pines and the croak of its frogs, 
the soft voice of sentiment finds no congenial harmony '? Do 
you not think that were the feeling of sentiment in Talbot 
county suddenly congealed into visible form by some occult fall 
of the metaphysical temperature that our Land of Legendary 
Lore would be peopled with veritably living snow-men \ or has 
your education been so neglected that you must admit you have 
received but little instruction on this important point ? If this 
be true and your sentimental germ is yet in embryonic state, 
come place it in the atmosphere of fancy, where the warmth and 
glow of musing memories may quicken it into the life of a full 



190 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

blown imagination. Then can we harmoniously visit the temples 
of the past, and enjoy the spirit of the long ago. 



TALBOT COURT HOUSE. 

"The hope of all who suffer, 
The dread of all who wrong." 

Easton was first known as Talbot Court House and was select- 
ed as the county seat as early as 1700. At one time in the early 
days, Oxford was spoken of as a proper site for the court house 
owing to its prominence as a business centre and its ready ac- 
cessibility by water, but its present situation was later selected 
from its central position and nearness to the headwaters of the 
Avon, Miles and Choptank rivers. In those early days the court 
house was a thing more in name than in deed, for the first ses- 
sion of court in Easton of which we read, was held in the old 
tav ern, which by the part it was made to play, became in 
fact the first court house. Talbot county was larger then than 
it is today, and the need of a suitable building became early ap- 
parent. Necessary roads were built to Town Point, on the 
Avon, to Miles river ferry, and to Dover, the deserted town on 
the Choptank, whose memory alone survives in the name of 
Dover street, Easton. Here a court house was built near the 
river, but all that remains is the cemetery adjoining it. Insig- 
nificant a village as Easton was in those days, it lived to see its 
rival become a ruin, its dead alone marking the spot of those 
who had passed away with their hamlet. The villagers made 
a strenuous effort to keep their court house, and legally autho- 
rized the building of a town with definite bounds, laying the 
same off into regular streets. This appeal to the legislature 
was successful, and in March, 1785, an act was passed to build a 
town. A new court house was built some years after on the 
site of the old one — completed in 1791 — and at a cost of $15,000, 
a good price in those days, and that the work was well done a 
glance at the building today will show, for it stands as a monu- 
ment of the last century. Further details of the Talbot court 
are given in the following account by the late Dr. Samuel A. 
Harrison : 



NOTES OF INTEREST 191 

Prior to 1682 the courts for this county were of an itinerant 
character, that is, they had no settled meeting place, and were 
held in different portions of the county, mostly at private houses. 
In 1080- 1 the first court house in the county was erected on 
Skipton creek, a branch of Wye river, near the present site of 
Skipton, and there the courts continued to be held until 1707, 
at which time Queen Anne's county was formed, and the bounds 
of Talbot for the first time definitely and accurately established. 
This building at York, situated as it was in the north-western ex- 
tremity of the newly formed county, was too inconveniently lo- 
cated, and gave rise to the necessity of its removal. At the 
last session of the court at York, a commission was appointed to 
"select a suitable place for holding the courts thereafter." This 
commission decided upon Oxford ; and on the nineteenth of 
August, 1707, court was held at Oxford, in the house of Daniel 
Sherwood, Sheriff. Oxford at that time was the most flourish- 
ing town in the county, and was accessible by water from all 
parts of the county. In 1709, a contract was entered into be- 
tween the Justices and Daniel Sherwood and Colonel Nicholas 
Lowe for the erection of the building. This contract was never 
carried into effect. 

A tract of land, designated in the act of Assembly that 
authorized the erection of the court house, "Armstrong's Old 
Field near Pitte his Bridge," and embracing two acres, as stated 
in the above order, was purchased for the sum of five thousand 
pounds of tobacco. It formed part of the original patent of 
Londonderry, the name being still perpetuated in the tract of 
land at present owned by the heirs of the late Admiral Febiger, 
United States Xavy. "Pitte his bridge" is now known as the 
tan -yard bridge, and spans the stream near the northern boundary 
of the town, upon this tract, and on the site of the present 
court house was accordingly erected a brick building twenty by 
thirty feet; and the cost was one hundred and fifty thousand 
pounds of tobacco. On the seventeenth of June, 1712, the first 
session of court was held in the building. A jail, pillory, stocks 
and whipping post were also erected shortly after, the jail being 
built in the northeast corner of the square. 

This court house, completed in 1711, formed the germ of what 
is now Easton. During its erection the road leading to Easton 
Point, at one time called Town Point, was laid out ; also the road 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




VIEW OF "LLANDAFF," ESTATE OF JOHN M. ELLIOTT. 




ANOTHER VIEW OF "LLANDAFF." 



NOTES OF INTEREST 193 

to Miles river. A tavern or "ordinary" was established for the 
accommodation of those who attended the sessions of the court ; 
small county stores were from time to time started ; and a few 
dwelling houses erected by the officers of the court, the village 
taking its name from the seat of justice, the one in question be- 
ng for a long time called and known as Talbot Court House. Nor 
was it incorporated into a town for seventy-eight years after the 
erection of the building. It is not to be presumed, however, 
that the annals of the village of Talbot Court House were alto- 
gether simple and uneventful during this long period. Being 
the headquarters, as it were, of the entire county, the planters 
would assemble here on special occasions, for the mutual inter- 
change of views on the social, political and religious topics of 
the day. No doubt a great crowd was gathered to witness the 
trial of that French pirate, who was charged with the murder of 
the captain and two boys sailing on a small boat captured by 
the pirate, who after the murder was apprehended in the streets 
of Norfolk, wearing the silver knee and shoe buckles of his 
victim, marked with the initials of their former owner, and who 
at the Talbot Court House was condemned to be hung in chains 
at a place that still retains the name of Bloody Point, on Kent 
Island. This, as well as other important trials, attracted at var- 
ious times great gatherings. But one of the most important assem- 
blages of the people at this old court house, prior to the incorpora- 
tion of the town, was that held on the twenty-fifth of November, 
1765. it will be remembered that this was the year of the 
passage by the British Parliament of the celebrated ; 'Stamp 
Act," the precursor of those other oppressive measures, that 
finally resulted in an open rupture between the colonies and the 
mother country, and the establishment of the independence of 
the former. When the news of the passage of this act reached 
the colonies, it was received everywhere with indignation, and 
especially in Maryland was this the case. Here in Talbot the 
court, which met early in November, refused to hold its regular 
session, and adjourned to the first Tuesday in March, thereby 
refusing to comply with the act, which required that all papers 
used bv the court should have the obnoxious stamp affixed. 



194 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 



OLD EA.STON HOTELS. 



"Near yonder thorn, that lifts its head on high, 
Where once the sign-post caught the passing eye, 
Low lies that house where nut-brown draughts inspired, 
Where gray-beard mirth and smiling toil retired, 
Where village statesmen talked with looks profound, 
And news much older than their ale went round." 

Wherever there is a court house, there must be a tavern, a 
place where "accommodations may be had for man and beast." 
So it was with Easton, and I can say there is little connected 
with the early history of the town, that is not in some way as- 
sociated with the first tavern. By a strange coincidence the 
first landlord in Easton was a woman. Her name was Elizabeth 
Winkles, and authorities differ as to whether "mine hostess" 
was an old maid or a widow. In either case she "knew how to 
keep a hotel," as the judge, lawyers and jury, not to speak of 
the others, were much pleased with "Elizabeth Winkles' table 
food." 

With the passing away of the Tavern Court House, the name 
and fame of Elizabeth Winkles disappears, and another began 
to cater to the palates of the judges and lawyers, and all who 
sought shelter in Easton at the public house. Just who the 
landlord of the next tavern was, or where it was, is not known, 
but it is said to have been located just where the Odd Fellows' 
Hall now stands. At that time Easton boasted of a population 
of 428 whites and 212 blacks, 640 in all; but the tavern had the 
meeting of Court and the surrounding country, as now, to draw 
upon. Coming from England, as many of our people did in 
those days, the taverns were doubtless planned and constructed 
upon the English idea. One of the delights in London to-day 
is to drive out into its suburbs and enjoy a meal, or a night in 
one of those comfortable old inns that are so numerous there, 
and do not appear to have changed much in the past two cen- 
turies, from the accounts we have of them in "ye olden time." 

Easton begun to have new life infused into it early in the pres- 
ent century, and many improvements were made, substantial 
buildings, yet to be seen, were erected of brick, though the tav- 
ern of that day was a frame structure, and is now the home of 



NOTES OF INTEREST 195 

Dr. E. R. Trippe. As it stands today, the Trippe dwelling, then 
with its neighbor, was the tavern, and shows the old fashioned 
comfort of that age, the rooms large, the fireplaces commodious 
and the air of good cheer in the past. The old Harrison Street 
market house was built, and doubtless the landlord of the tav- 
ern of that day was the best patron of the good things to be 
found there, for there has never been a time when public house 
or private has failed to keep up the Eastern Shore reputation 
for true hospitality and keeping the very best the land could 
afford . 

The building now occupied by Mr. Harry Councell on Golds- 
borough Avenue is another of Easton's old taverns, and formerly 
stood on Washington Street, corner of Railroad Avenue, on the 
site of the present hardware store, and later moved to its present 
site. Bonifaces of that period have passed out of remembrance. 
It is, however, told of some of them, at certain times no liquors 
were allowed to be sold in them, a strange thing in those days 
of good cheer. We now come to a tavern in Easton which is still 
to be seen in a very substantial building — what is known as 
the Moreland Block to-day, yet still called by many the "Brick 
Hotel." This was to distinguish it from the old tavern, a frame 
building, which the far more pretentious one supplanted. That 
Easton wanted a good inn is proved by a look at the ' 'Brick 
Hotel" to-day, eighty-nine years after it was built, just at the 
time of the breaking out of the second war with England. Just 
who the first landlord of the Brick Hotel was, there is no data at 
hand to find out, but we can imagine how proud he must have 
been of such a building, to be the presiding genius of a tavern 
at that time worthy of Baltimore, Philadelphia and even New 
York. It had a rival in another house, which, however, did 
not long remain such against the attractions of bed and board 
of the Brick Hotel, owned by Samuel Groom e. 

William T. Hardesty was the next proprietor of this popular 
hotel, grown out of all idea of longer being called a tavern, and 
Tobias Merrick followed him. Then came others to share the 
honors in a landlord partnership between Albertson andNorris, 
to be followed by C. W. Bennett, and last by the present pro- 
prietor of the Avon, Colonel James C. Nbrris, who can look far 
enough back into the past to have been educated in the old 
school of hospitable landlords, and is yet prcgressh e enough to 



196 LAND OF LE&ENDARY LORE 

keep up with mine hosts of this most go-ahead age. As good 
as the old Brick Hotel had been, and having served its purpose 
well, Easton outgrew it. This was realized by a number of its 
citizens, who knew that Easton, must not be lacking in a suit- 
able hotel. The outcome of this desire was the Hotel Avon. 
It was completed in 1891, and located in one of the most desir- 
able parts of the town, not only to accommodate transient but 
regular guests. It cost over $40,000, exclusive of the land. 
The first proprietor, Mr. Lechler, was soon succeeded by Colo- 
nel James C. Morris. 



THE EARLY CHURCHES OF EASTON. 

"What is a church ?" — Let truth and reason speak ; 
They would reply — "The faithful, pure and meek, 
From Christian folds, the once selected race, 
Of all professions, and in every place." 

The first church of which there is record in Easton was erected 
by the Methodists on a lot on Goldsborough street in 1790. The 
structure was of frame, and it stood in the midst of what was 
then a burying ground. In 1829 a brick church was built by 
the same congregation, to be succeeded in 1 856 by their present 
house of worship. The second church in Easton was on Harri- 
son street. It was built by the Protestant Episcopal congrega- 
tion in 1803, the court house being their place of worship prior 
to their building a church of their own, which is still standing 
in good condition. It is now owned and used by the Baptists, 
who purchased it in 1897. The Episcopalians were the first 
congregation in Easton, however, though they had no church 
here. The cornerstone of the present picturesque and handsome 
stone edifice, with its rectory, was begun in 1810, and completed 
in 1813. at a cost of over ten thousand dollars. The bell of 
Christ Church was presented by Mr. G. A. Mackey in 1850. and 
was the first one in Easton to call the good people to their 
prayers, in 1868 the Eastern Shore of Maryland was made a 
a separate diocese, a bishop was sent here, and at a later period 
the second Episcopal church, the Cathedral, a unique and hand- 



NOTES OF INTEREST 197 

some'stone edifice, was erected, and Easton was made the "Ca- 
thedral Town." 

In 1828 the Methodist Protestant Church was organized in Eas- 
ton, and having but a few members to start with, held services 
in the dwelling now the residence of Dr. Edward R. Trippe. 
Later they worshipped in what was known as the "Old Bank," 
and later the present building was erected, and has since been 
greatly improved. After the war three other religious denomi- 
nations established themselves in Easton, the Roman Catholics 
in 1866, building a neat frame structure on Railroad Avenue 
with reciory attached, while the Southern Methodists first erect- 
ed a brick church in 1876, and later the handsome one on the 
corner of Harrison street and Railroad Avenue. There is an- 
other church, or as its members more modestly call it, meet- 
ing house, which, though not within the limits of Easton, may 
be so classed, for it is just beyond the suburbs. This is what 
is better known as the old William Penn church, the Friends' 
meeting house, already described in these pages. 



TA LBOT'S NEWSPAPERS. 

"Turn to the press — its teeming sheets survey — 

Big with the wonders of each passing day, 

Births, deaths and weddings, forgeries, fires and wrecks, 

Harangues and hailstones, brawls and broken necks." 

The newspapers of a town are the mirrors in which society 
sees itself as others do, and in this age of haste become as 
necessary to our mental wants as food is to the body. The news 
of the day gives spice to the breakfast. Of Talbot's papers, it 
can be said with truth, that though county papers, they have 
city airs. The Gazette was the first paper established in Eas- 
ton, its first issue appearing in the year 1817. It is still 
a prosperous sheet, of eight well filled pages, but like good 
wine it improves with age, and stands today one of the substan- 
tial weeklies published in Maryland. The Gazette from its 
foundation was the advocate of free schools and free education, 
and while it has always been firm in its political opinions, has 



198 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

accorded to others tlie free exercise of their own judgment. Dur- 
ing the war it sustained the side of the Government with energy 
and spirit, and now advocates the principles of the Bepublican 
party. In the last few years the Gazette has made rapid 
strides in progress, and has established in connection with it an 
extensive steam book printing and job work annex. The paper 
is owned by Mr. Wilson M. Tylor, editor. 

The Baston Star has known the ups and downs of life in their 
full sense. Though really older than the Gazette by some years, 
it yet cannot be called the oldest paper as it has been suspended 
three times, and Phcenix like, sprung into life again out 
of its ashes. It is the old democratic paper of the county. It 
was established as a Jeffersonian democratic paper, in the year 
1800, by Mr. Perine Smith. In 183?, after the death of Mr. 
Smith, it was suspended. In 1841 it was revived. In 1846 it 
was bought by Colonel H. E. Bateman. In 1849 he sold it. In 
1855, Mr. Bobson purchased Mr. Bowlenson's interest in the 
paper, and was the exclusive editor for thirty- two years. In May, 
1865 it was suspended by the military power, and its editor ban- 
ished to Bichmond, Virginia, for adhering to, and persistently 
defending what he conscientiously believed to be constitution- 
al principles. In September, 1865, after the war, Mr. Bobson 
revived the paper, and it at once entered actively in the work 
of abolishing the proscription laws enacted during the war, in 
abrogating the constitution of 1854, and in giving the people of 
Maryland a liberal constitution. Thenar throughout its exist- 
ence has been consistently democratic, and is still advocating 
democratic principles. The present proprietor is Mr. S. E. 
Whitman, managing editor, who bought the paper in 1896 and 
combined with it the Democrat which had been founded in 1886. 

The Easton Ledger was founded in 1874, by Mr. Julius A- 
Johnson, who was an able editor, and a practical printer of large 
experience, and his constant aim was to make the Ledger a first 
class newspaper in every respect. He succeeded in making it one 
of the brightest and most popular county papers in the state. In 
the beginning of 1881, Mr. G. E. Hadda way purchased the Ledger, 
and has fully kept it up to the standard of its former excellence. 

The St. Michaels Comet is another paper that looks well into 
the past. It was established on a firm foundation, and under 
its different editorial pilots has been a bright and newsy sheet. 



NOTES OF INTEREST 199 

The Comet is now under the editorial management of W. D. J. 
Morris, a well-known democrat. 

The Trappe Times is a newcomer in an old town, but it is un- 
der an able management and on the highway to success. It is 
a Republican paper, and Mr. Percival Mullikin is the editor. 



SCHOOLS, BANKS AND SECRET SOCIETIES. 

"Beside yon straggling fence that skirts the way, 
With blossomed furze unprofitably gay, 
There, in his noisy mansion, skilled to rule, 
The village master taught his little school ; 
A man severe he was, and stern to yiew, 
I knew him well, and every truant knew, 
Well had the boding tremblers learned to trace 
The day's disasters in his morning face." 

The Baston High School looms up grandly as an educational 
centre, of which, along with its annex, the primary school, the 
citizens are justly proud. It would be a credit to any large 
city. It is well located, and a commodious, handsome structure, 
well arranged, while in each department there are outward 
signs of the ablest management. This may also be said of the 
primary school, though for beauty of architecture it is not ex- 
actly a success. What is arrived at in the Easton High School 
is to give its graduates a thorough education in all that is taught 
in the separate grades, and this means that a pupil goes forth 
equipped to begin the struggle of life. 

The Easton High School was built in the year 1894. This 
handsome building occupies the site of the old Easton academy, 
which was erected in 1800 ; and after ninty- three years of 
service, was deemed unsafe by the School Commissioners, and 
was torn down and the handsome structure which now stands 
in its place was erected at the cost of eighteen thousand dollars. 
The building is of brick, and has two stories and a basement, 
cloak rooms, studio, and a library. There is accommodation for 
four hundred scholars. The building is heated by steam and 
has large and airy recitation rooms. The front of the building 
is finely finished in marble, with dates of the erection of the old 



200 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE. 

building, and also of the new building carved on marble plates 
placed on either side of the front door. There are six teachers, 
and about two hundred pupils in the school, which are divided 
into the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth grades. 
The fifth and sixth comprise the grammar, and the other 
grades the high school. The common branches of studies are 
taught, and in addition to these the classics and sciences, also an 
excellent course in drawing and manual training. 

As the schools stamp a place of residence, so do the banks and 
stores make a decided impress on a town or a city. Easton has 
two banks, the Easton National and the Farmers and Merchants, 
both in successful operation. Besides these there is a savings 
bank and a building and loan association. The lumber mills, 
brick and tile works, carriage shops, fertilizer manufactories, 
boat-shops, laundry, shirt factory, canning establishments, and 
oyster packing houses are all important enterprises, and reflect 
creditably the improvement and advancement the town has 
made. The fair gounds, with the substantial buildings, erected 
for the purpose of stimulating a just competition on all products 
of factory or farm, are worthy of note, and it may be said, de- 
serves its place in the structure of the body of enterprises. The 
grounds are well laid out and suitably adapted to its uses. 

Secret societies are likewise in evidence in Easton. Both 
Masons and Odd Fellows have handsome houses, which are among 
the finest buildings in the town. In addition there are many 
fraternal orders with lodges in Easton, the Knights of Pythias, 
Heptasophs, American Fraternal lusurance Union, Bed Men, 
Ancient Order of United Workmen. Easton has excellent stores, 
dry -goods, millinery, hardware and groceries, and its market 
abounds in all those delicacies for which the Eastern Shore has 
a just reputation. 

But the complement of a dainty dish is domestic 'darky." 



THE EASTERN SHORE NEGRO. 

"We may live without poetry, music and art ; 
We may live without conscience, and live without heart, 
We may live without friends, we may live without books, 
But civilized man cannot live without cooks." 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



201 




VIEWS IN CORDOVA. 




RESIDENCE OF J. M. AVERS, CORDOVA. 



202 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE. 

The negro is an inseparable factor of the life on the Eastern 
Shore, and no history of our people would be complete without 
recognition of the unconscious influence he has exerted on life, 
manners and language of the people whom he serves. The tra- 
ditional negro of slavery days is now seldom seen — such change 
has his character undergone as the result of his freedom. There 
is much doubt whether the change, though confessedly an im- 
provement in abstract knowledge, has succeeded in enhancing 
his worth as citizen, or bread-winner. The negro's nature 
is childish and dependent, worthy when guided, useless when un- 
supported. He does not possess the power of self-preservation, 
and so will succumb to the law of the "survival of the fittest." 
Little has the white man to fear from his weaker brother, and 
the situation demands his pity and his care more than it does 
his apprehension. The pure blooded negro is weak enough, but 
the halt-breed has no longevity on which to depend for 
the perpetuation of his race. Our present problem is to see 
that the negro's best days have not gone, for ahead of him there 
is a struggle for existence under which he labors unequally. None 
but those who have lived with him can duly estimate his 
capabilities and his worth. To measure him by the standard 
of the white is to stretch his nature beyond the pale of his pos- 
sibilities, and to do this would be an unconscious extinction of 
the race from mistaken humanitarian principles. If the anthro- 
pologists have correctly placed him, he was made to be a "hewer 
of wood, and a drawer of water," to subsist by the work of his 
hands, to serve his higher brothers and so fulfill his appointed 
destiny. Let us not seek to ruin him, but help him faithfully 
to do his part in the great design. Negroes exist in the realm of 
imagination, and are unable to survive the consuming strain of 
reason. The negro is tender-hearted but neglectful, appreciative 
but improvident, faithful according to his standard of morality, 
and dependent from the fact that he is made to live a civilized life 
on a barbaric structure. Easton's colored population as a whole 
are sober, honest and industrious, though there are too many 
men and boys, who appear to love idleness rather than work, 
and to sit about upon boxes awaiting the millennium. 

Among the negroes who have gone from here, I have found 
the same love of the old land, that is in the hearts of the natives. 
They talk of old Talbot, and hope some day to come back. In 



NOTES OP INTEREST 203 

this connection it may be said that the first cotton ever planted 
in America was here in Talbot, It was planted on the Golds- 
borongh plantation on "Peach Blossom Creek," within sight of 
the original home, which is still standing, a relic, between the 
handsome homes of "Llandaff" and the "Beeches." 



THE CANOE AND BUCKEYE. 



''Give me of your bark, O birch tree 
Of your yellow bark, O birch tree ! 
Growing by the rushing river, 
Tall and stately in the valley ! 
I a light canoe will build me, 
Build a swift Cheemaun for sailing, 
That shall float upon the river, 
Like a yellow leaf in Autumn, 
Like a yellow water-lily." 



While dwelling upon these random notes of Easton and Tal- 
bot, of people and affairs, it must not be forgotten that in their 
borders are bnilt some remarkable vessels, as the Chesapeake 
"canoe" and "buckeye." The latter vessel is upon the same 
lines, in a measure, as the former, light draught, sharp stem, 
narrow beam, and with about the same rigging. They are built to 
go, and nothing can equal them in speed the world over. Being- 
open, save a small deck forward, and carrying no ballast, the 
canoe is a craft that only an expert can manage. The Eastern 
Shore is full of just such experts, and a canoe "cranky as the 
devil" apparently, will yet, in proper hands, ride out a gale, 
and carry sail when large vessels are hunting harbor. The 
negroes from the shores of the Chesapeake, handle these craft 
superbly, and many of the masting vessels have negro sailors 
upon them, and good seamen they are. The canoe — the negro 
calls it "kunnah" — is rigged with fore and main masts, upon 
which are spread leg-of-mutton sails, a short bow-sprit and a 
jib. The masts can be quickly unstopped, thrown overboard in 
a gale, if need be, and then, with her log hull and a good oars- 
man, it becomes as safe as a life boat. It is amusing' to see the 



204 LAND OE LEGENDARY LORE. 

crack yachtsmen bring their cat-rigs and sloops to race, and. 
watch these canoes drop them out of sight, slipping along like 
marine ghosts. The buckeye — also spoken of as bugeye — is a 
splendid style of craft, being staunch in wild weather, good car- 
riers, swift sailors on any wind, and trim as yachts. 



CHAPTER XXX. 



NOTED HOMES ALONG THE CHOPTANK. 




HE largest tributary that feeds the 
Chesapeake bay from the Eastern 
Shore is the Choptank river, whose 
winding course and Indian name 
have been elsewhere mentioned in 
these pages. Eising as it does in 
Kent county, Delaware, this river 
traverses Caroline county, and forms 
the eastern and southern boundaries 
of Talbot, its small creeks and bay- 
ous ramifying on both sides through 
the adjoining land, and affording- a 
varied and extensive coast line in almost every conceivable di- 
rection. Tracts of land are thus encircled by these winding- 
streams, which form not only natural boundaries between estates, 
but areas well means of communication and thoroughfares for 
trade. 

The Choptank river with its numerous tributaries has been 
not inappropriately named "Talbot's Meat House, " so abundant- 
ly does it supply our people with its delicious products of rish, 
oysters and crabs. Along its tidal shores lies laud of unsurpass- 
ed fertility, which, coupled with the advantage of water situa- 
tions, has attracted men of means and culture to settle here and 
develop its resources. The southern end of Talbot, known as 
Irappe district, is almost a peninsula, being surrounded by the 
Choptank and Avon rivers whose headwaters are within less 
than three miles of each other. This district is broken up into 
"necks,'' or divisions of land separated by inundating creeks, 
which radiate from the centre and empty into the encircling 
rivers. These "necks" are rarely so wide that more than one 
road is ever necessary to traverse them, from which road, lanes 
lead to the various houses, which are usually on a point or rise 
of land overlooking the water. The land is generally hat, oc- 
casionally gently rolling, light in character and well adapted to 



206 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

the culture of wheat and corn. The names of these "necks" 
have been derived from some prominent landowner, some geo- 
graphical feature, or some fancied resemblance to an association 
with some shire of similar name in England, whence the first 
settlers came. This is seen from the following list of names : 
Oxford Neck, Island Creek, Little Neck, Ferry Neck, Boling- 
broke, Bambury and Landing Neck. 

To obtain a comprehensive view of some of these interesting 
old Maryland homes, one might imagine a sail along the shores 
of these bounding rivers, with brief stops at the various home- 
steads, and a ramble through the houses and gardens, and chat 
with their owners, whereby he could enjoy the life itself, as 
lived by those old landed proprietors. During his call, he 
would find the genial host and hostess, proud perhaps in the 
dignity of some sixty summers, and cultivated to the extent 
that learned leisure could afford, or perhaps hale and hearty 
with a genial roughness that bespeaks a nature "rich in the milk 
of human kindness, " their sons and daughters of culture and 
beauty, each in turn lending their attentions to that entertain- 
ment that lacks exertion, yet produces a pleasurable ease ; the 
ever-ready attendant that serves refreshment, and an invitation 
to "come again," that would create a desire certain of gratifica- 
tion. Some such picture of the home life with further imagi- 
native details, might be added and iound to be more or less true 
at each of these old homes. 

Starting from Trippe's Creek, and confining ourselves to the 
southern shore, one is attracted by the handsome home of 
"Harley," owned by Mr. Preston B. Spring, formerly of New 
York. This estate was once a part of tne ''Belleville" tract, 
previously referred to as the home of the Bozmans. The house 
which stands in a grove, is of modern architecture, and has all the 
interior appointments of a country gentleman's home. The 
grounds are tastefully laid out, and are arranged for tennis and 
golf. The house overlooks the water, which adds much to the 
beauty of the place and enjoyment of the owner. 

Further to the west is passed the former home of Eev. T. 
Bayne, familiarly known as Parson Bayne, at one time rector of 
White Marsh parish, and then the comfortable home of Nicholas 
Goldsborough comes in view. "Otwell," as it was named, is 
almost a peninsula, and is still owned by the heirs of Colonel 



NOTED HOMES ALONG THE CHOPTANK 207 

Goldsborough, who is already mentioned among the noted and 
worthy men of Talbot. The house overlooks the Tred Avon 
river, from whose waters at this point the best flavored oysters 
are found. 

The adjoining farms of "Plimhinnnon," the home of Lieutenant 
Tench Tilghman, and £< Bonfield," the home of the Chain berlaines 
have already been described, yet are passed in rounding the 
point of land, upon which Oxford is situated. Towards the 
s outh is "Bachelor's Point," the lovely home of the late Mrs. 
Emerson commanding a water view on three sides. 

Here one enters the placid waters of Island creek, so named 
from the small island which lies in its mouth, which is dotted on 
both sides with comfortable homes surrounded by goodly acres. 
On the left bank, ascending the river, may be seen "Evergreen" 
where lived Dr. W. G. G. Willson, a surgeon in the United 
States Navy, and later a prominent physician of Easton. It is 
now owned by Mr. McKenny Willis, who lives on the adjoining- 
farm. Proceeding up the creek, one finds the beautiful spot of 
"Judith's Garden," long known as the Ben Bowdle farm, and 
now owned by Mr. Bitter. 

The land in this section of Oxford Neck is particularly fertile, 
and so conveniently situated that grain may be taken directly 
from the field to the boats that anchor within a hundred yards 
or less of the shore. The ease with which farm products may be 
taken to market by the water courses is a unique and highly ad- 
vantageous feature of Talbot county. 

On the opposite bank in Island Creek Neck may be mentioned 
"Milan," the old home of the late Alexander Barnet, and those 
of Mr. John Caulk, and Mr. Anthony Boss. "Walnut Grove,'' 
one of the oldest homes in the county, was owned by the Hon. 
Nicholas Martin, inherited by his daughter, Mrs. Bebecca 
Matthews, and now owned by Mr. G. M. Jenkins, of Trappe, 
which tract of land also includes the farms of Mr. Bobert Bart- 
lett and the late James Chamberlaine. Other homes on Island 
Creek are those of Mr. E. W. Hopkins, Mr. Caulk Kemp, Mr. 
G^eorge_Graham , and "CloraDorsey," the home of Mr. Nicholas 
Willis. 

Here there is a point of land known as '-Chora's Point," for a 
long time the landing where passengers and freight for Baltimore 
boarded the steamer. The point derived its name from the 



208 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




BAPTIST CHURCH AT CORDOVA. 



\— *~ 



ft 




fMmmtt* 




SKIPTON SCHOOL HOUSE. 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



300 





210 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

owner of the "Hier- Dyer -Lloyd" tract of land. The tract was 
taken up in the early days by a Spaniard named Clora Adora* 
and its northeast boundary ran from the "Crosiadore" on the 
Choptank to the headwaters of the Tred Avon. A commission 
appointed by the court to determine the line, marked it wit jl 
stones which embraced portions of Oxford, Island Creek and 
Little Necks. The river at this point has a wide sweep and pre- 
sents a beautiful sheet of water, and little is one's surprise that 
the Indians who lived along its shores, and were reared n full 
view of its heaving bosom and within sound of its rushing tide, 
had learned to regard it even in their barbaric way, as their 
very own, and a part of their great hunting grounds. Along 
this curving beach may be picked up Indian arrow heads of ex- 
quisite workmanship, hatchets and implements of hunting and 
warfare. Some years ago there appeared an Indian in the vil- 
lage of Trappe, with signs of having traveled a long distance. 
He was destitute of money and clothes, and was physically in a 
wretched condition, but made an attempt at gaining a livelihood 
by making bows and arrows, for which purpose the only imple" 
nient he used was a long butcher's knife. He was unable to 
speak English or to understand anything that was said to him. 
The villagers supplied his wants and would have given him work, 
but after wandering several days around the shores of the Chop- 
tank, he disappeard as suddenly as he had come. From his 
careful search, and an evident familiarity with the region, it is 
believed he was a member of the trib of Susquehannas, who 
formerly roamed the Chesapeake shores, in search of the graves 
or relics of his ancestors. 

"Lo ! the poor Indian, — whose untutored mind, 
Sees God in clouds, or hears him in the wind ; 
His soul proud science never taught to stray, 
Far as the solar walk or milky way ; 
Yet simple nature to his hope has given, 
Behind the cloud-topped hill, a humbler heaven." 

This same sentiment was possessed by the mistress of 
''Wilderness" on the Choptank, Mrs. John W. Martin. By her 
energy and benevolence, she was instrumental in doing much to 
assist the Indians in the western reservations, and annually large 
boxes of gifts and useful presents of all kinds were sent by her to 
the various tribes. This intercourse was the means of bringing 



NOTED HOMES ALONG THE CHOPTANK 211 

two Indians on a visit to "Wilderness" years after, one a chief 
and the other an Episcopal clergyman, who had been in Wash- 
ington on business connected with their people. It is pathetic 
to hear the accounts of their resentful feelings in regard to all 
this lovely country, which "might have been" theirs, and, of 
how toward evening they would sit down near the bank for 
hours, smoking their pipes, and looking with longing hearts over 
the great waters of beautiful Choptank. This grand old home 
of "Wilderness" was built in 1816 by Colonel Daniel Martin, 
then a colonel of cavalry in the state militia, and here he 
brought his bride. The house during its construction was su- 
pervised by him, and so careful was he that neither haste nor 
imperfect work should mar the solidity of his home, that th e 
floors were allowed to season a twelve- month beyond use, and 
all such cautions were duly observed. The bricks were made 
and burt upon the farm, and the lime was made of shells taken 
from the river, and mixed with sharp sand found on the beach, 
for the mortar, that today is impenetrable and solid. The house 
stands in a grove of magnificent poplars, lindens, willows, oaks 
and sycamores. One oak planted by the present proprietor, 
now shades a circle sixty feet in diameter. The site is on an ele- 
vation, and from the observatory on the house one may obtain 
a view of the broad water unequalled in beauty the world over. 
In these waters, during the early days of this century, the Brit- 
ish gunboats were often seen and feared by the owners of "Wil- 
derness" and "Clora's Point." These fears were never realized, 
however, as the English found a warmer welcome at "Castle 
Haven," the haunted home of the tory, Noel. 

"Wilderness" was the home of Colonel Martin until he was 
made Governor of Maryland in 1828, and again in 1830, when 
during his term of office he resided in Annapolis. The parents 
of Governor Martin were celebrated people in their day. His 
mother, known as "Madame" Oldham, owned much land in Tal- 
bot county, and was distinguished by having the only coach 
and four for miles around. The father was a sea captain, Cap- 
tain Thomas Martin, and led the adventurous and successful ca- 
reer attributed in those days to men of a sea-faring life. It is 
told that when he returned to his home, he would bring suffi- 
cient coin to cover the large dining room table over with Span- 
ish dollars a foot deep. Dr. John Martin, descended from an 



212 LAND OF LE&ENDARY LORE 

Englishman of that name, married Miss Elizabeth Bond of 
Philadelphia, daughter of Dr. Thomas Bond, one of the found- 
ers of the University of Pennsylvania, whose grandson, Mr. 
John W. Martin, is the present proprietor. Leading in a 
north westerly direction from "Wilderness" is Dividing Creek 
or Trappe Eiver, bounded on both sides by fine and fertile 
farms. On the Island Creek Neck side, now owned by James 
M. Leonard is the unpretentious yet dignified home of "Hamp- 
den," long the abode of a prominent branch of the Martin fam- 
ily, and of late years owned by Mr. John S. Martin, now de- 
ceased. "Hampden" was in the possession of the Martin fam- 
ily from 1660 until 1866. The house was the first brick build- 
ing in Talbot county, made of bricks brought from England by 
the first Thomas Martin in 1663. This farm was his home place 
which he named "Hampden," and was inherited by three other 
Thomas Martins, and later by Joseph Martin, and Thomas the 
father of John S. Martin, whose descendants are still promi- 
nent citizens of Maryland . 

On the opposite shore is seen "Compton," the former home of 
Governor Stevens, of Maryland, who filled the gubernatorial 
office from 1822-1825, and whose house was long the rendezvous 
for men of letters and the local celebrities. Adjoining this farm 
is "Boston," owned by the late W. B. Martin, brother to Mr. 
John W. Martin, of "Wilderness." His family now occupies 
the home place, well known for its hospitality. It is situated in 
a beautiful grove of trees, extending to the water, and on its 
lawn are cultivated exquisite roses and chrysanthemums of more 
than ordinary beauty. 

South of "Boston" on a tongue of land running out boldly 
into the Choptank is "Howell's Point." This land was original- 
ly granted to the Dickinsons by proprietary enactment, and 
embraced the land as far as Eeed's Creek. In the division of 
the land, "Crosiadore" the home place, always went to the 
eldest son, and "Howells's Point" to the minor heirs. In 
this way John Dickinson who married the daughter of 
Howell Powell, possessed it 7 while Samuel the eldest in 
name for several generations obtained "Crosiadore." This 
lovely old home is situated on Dickinsons's Bay, formed by a 
widening of the river at this point, and protected by two large 
islands, which bound it on the river side. 



NOTED HOMES ALONG THE CHOPTABTK 213 

Here lived the eldest sons of the Dickinson family for many 
generations. The first house was remodeled into a beautiful 
modern country home, was built of English bricks, and in Eng- 
lish style. The wainscoted walls and winding staircases spoke 
of the age in which they were built, then regarded as the most 
costly and elegant finish for a gentleman's home. The whole 
appearance and air of the place gives one the impression of re- 
finement and hospitality, while the resourceful country and 
the beautiful river afford "Crosiadore" a situation and advantage 
that make a the spot an ideal one for a home. On the walls today 
hang tapestries spun and embroidered by the ladies of that 
house, and in several instances the subjects of the pictures were 
romances in the lives of members of the family. On the lawn 
are grand old trees, which have stood guard these many years 
and have been the silent witnesses to many a gathering of old 
and young. Alike to wedding marches and funeral dirges have 
their soughing winds played soft accompaniments ; and now 
in turn they, too, are in the "seer and yellow leaf," yet still re- 
plete with memories dear to those who read. "Crosiadore" is a 
corruption of the French "croix d' or" meaning "cross of gold," 
derived perhaps from some heraldic design of the ancestors who 
were engaged in the Crusades. 

In this old home was born in 1732, John Dickinson, Governor 
of Pennsylvania, and founder of Dickinson college, Carlisle. 
He was the second son of Samuel Dickinson, the grandson of the 
first proprietor of the estate, and of Mary Cadwalader, his sec- 
ond wife, sister of Dr. Thomas Cadwalader of Philadelphia. 
In 1740 Samuel Dickinson moved to Kent county, Delaware. 
Another scion of this house was the Dickinson, who fought and 
was killed in a duel with President Andrew Jackson. The cause 
of difference was a trivial one, but according to the code of those 
days, honor had to be satisfied by resort to arms. At the first 
fire Dickinson wounded his opponent, but Jackson reserving his 
fire, advanced, shot and killed Dickinson instantly. His 
body was brought to Talbot, and he was buried in the adjoin- 
ing county of Caroline. 

A beautiful shore line extends from Eeed's Creek to Boling- 
broke Creek, along which extends the fertile farms of Mr. E. 
W. Kir by, the heirs of the late Alexander Bowdle, and Mr. 
James Dawson. The home of the latter kown as Cambridge or 



214 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Harris' Ferry, is directly opposite Cambridge, where in olden 
days, the mail that was brought by stage down the peninsula, 
was ferried across the river to be continued down the "shore." 
At this point the Choptank makes its great bend, turning al- 
most through an arc of ninety degrees to the north-east, and 
making the southernmost extremity of Talbot county, known as 
•'Chancellor's Point." The land from Bolingbrooke Creek 
northward to Bambury neck is bounded by a bold shore, in 
some places quite high for this flat section of the country. 
Through the energies and means of Col. Win. Hughlett, father 
of the late Col. Thomas Hughlett of Easton, this section of Talbot 
was largely developed. Col. Hughlett was a merchant of Greens- 
boro, where he amassed a large fortune. Coming to Talbot he 
bought up large tracts of land in Bolingbroke neck, which he 
left to his son, William B. Hughlett, and legacies to his other 
sons. Thomas Hughlett built the beautiful home of "Ingle- 
side, ' ' which name is suggestive of the warmth and hospitality, 
that was dispensed around that fireside. Several times has it 
changed owners, and is now in possession of Mr. James Dawson. 
William B. Hughlett built "Jamaica Point," a fine old brick 
house with ample lawn and shade. This he settled upon his 
son Thomas, and then built "Betreat," which he sold to Mr. 
Hannigan, of Baltimore. A short distance away he built the 
"Home," and after living there seven years, he gave it in trust 
to his son Bichard's wife and children. Buying "Ingleside" 
from his brother Thomas, he resided here until he sold it to Mr. 
Franz Scheppers, of Philadelphia, when he built his last house 
on "Chancellor's Point," where he died. Besides these places 
two other houses on the Hughlett property were built by his 
sons, John and William. First "Cherry Grove" on the Chop- 
tank, now owned by the heirs of Mr. Benjamin Outram, of Eng- 
land, and "Belmont," in Bolingbroke neck, since purchased 
by Mr. Alfred Kemp, who married the Colonel's only daughter, 
widow of Mr. George Nay lor. "Hilton" the home of Miss Irene 
Orndorff, on this same tract was built by Mr. Frederick Baggs, 
sold to William Hughlett, Jr., and then to Mrs. Ariette Orn- 
dorff. All of these places possess superb locations on the broad 
salt water, and fortunes have been expended in developing and 
maintaining them. Each owner in turn has indulged his ex- 
travagant fancies in the possibilities of landscape beauties. All 



NOTED HOMES ALONG THE CHOPTANK 215 

that art and money and taste could do, has been spent on these 
homes, some still in their pristine glory, while others have only 
the marks of their departed greatness. Before the civil war in 
the days of slavery, the fun was fast and furious. Hospitality 
was dispensed with lavish hand, and the charms of social inter- 
course weie of that nature that to be once enjoyed was never to 
be forgotten. It was as much as a stranger's life was worth, to 
use a strong expression, to run the gauntlet of the successive 
entertainments with which his visit would be honored He 
usually survived however, and never failed to repeat his visit to 
the land that flowed Avith "milk and honey." Soon after the 
war the "Retreat" was bought by Colonel Bradford, who chang- 
ed its name to "Allonby," which reached its greatest glory 
while in possession of Mr. John Riker of New York. This 
gentleman beautified the place in every way that was possible, 
laying out a beautiful park and lake, and adorned the lawn with 
flowers and shrubbery of the choicest varieties. The natural 
situation with these artificial adornments produced in the place 
one of the handsomest homes in the county. At Mr. Biker's 
death, the property passed into the hands of Mr. Bayliss, of 
Baltimore. Along this same Choptank farther to the north, are 
many pretty homes, and that of ColonelJ. Percy McKnett is de- 
lightfully situated ; beyond him is the old estate, "Lloyd's Land- 
ing," the former home of Robert Lloyd. 

On the adjoining farm is Talbot's health resort and old camp- 
meeting grounds, known for many, many years as Lloyd's 
Springs. Traversing the land, which here is undulating, is a 
deep ravine, through whose valley runs a little stream, the 
outlet of an abundant and constantly flowing spring of delicious- 
ly cool chalybeate water. Surrounding the spring for a wide 
area is a handsome grove of beeches, under whose spreading 
branches, generations for years past have trod the niazy dance, 

"When the merry bells ring round 
And the jocund rebecks sound 
To many a youth, and many a maid 
Dancing in the chequered shade." 

Upon the trunks of those smooth bark beeches, that still stand 
as libraries in the wood, may be read the names of hundreds of 
the happy youths, who from sentimental fancy have carved 
their own with their sweetheart's names upon those monarchs 



216 , LAND OF LEGENDARY LOBE. 

of the forest, that stand like ghosts revealing the merry hearts 
that have gathered in their midst. Upon one hillside is the 
famous wild grape-vine, so long serving its term as a natural 
swing for the hoys and girls. The fountain of Arethusa or the 
Idseau groves were no more cherished by the rustic nymphs 
and fawns than were these natural beauties by the natives of 
this Eastern Shore, who though far removed they may be from 
its genial presence, still softly sigh — ' 'this is my own my na- 
tive land." 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



THE HUMOROUS SIDE OF THE NEGRO. 




ERE it not for the fact that the 
colored race figures so promi- 
nently in this section, this chap- 
ter would scarcely have a place 
in this book. But the jottings 
of interest would not be com- 
plete without giving a few 
pages to the readers, who per- 
chance might not have been ac- 
quainted with this strange people of misfortune and calumny, 
who, without their volition, are forced to stand side by side in 
comparison with the most enlightened people of the world. The 
colored man of America is gradually emerging from the tunnel 
of darkness into which he by nature found himself and may yet 
prove master of the situation — who knows f 

Between the bays of Delaware and Chesapeake he is typical 
in all that pertains to the race. He has been kept in the even 
tenor of his natural instincts, unadorned with much "book 
larnin' " and filled from the cradle with the lore of his kin- 
folks. This class forms a large part of the population of the 
peninsula, and taking them as a body, they are by far the hap- 
piest people ever created, and collectively speaking, much more 
so before the civil war than at present. The education they 
have been receiving, say most competent authority, has tend- 
ed to unfit them for their calling in life. It is no trouble in 
riding along the road to distinguish a negro of antl-bellum days 
by the manner in which he speaks, always being thoroughly 
polite. Indeed, every one of sufficient age to remember the 
negro forty years ago will say that then he stood much closer to 
the white people by means of his simplicity and childish man- 
ner, than at present. It is a well known fact that no white 
child raised in those old times who had the opportunity, could 
be kept from the kitchen or the negro quarters, for the reason 
that what was seen and heard was so primitive in its nature 



218 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

that it was thoroughly entertaining to the children. Who is it 
old enough that cannot remember when he sat attentively and 
listened to the ghost stories and miraculous experiences of these 
people until he was afraid to retire at night 1 

To the present day, to such a person it is a pleasure to get a 
quiet moment with some of the old people and hear their stories. 
Not long since in conversation one was telling of his religious 
ideas. He said be thought people ought to pray to the one they 
served, and exemplified it in the following story : 

When a lad of about seventeen years there came a rain one 
afternoon, after wbicb his master permitted him to go chestnut 
hunting. At this he was very much pleased, so in great haste 
he sougbt the woods and soon found a tree loaded with nuts. 
Being strong and athletic he at once proceeded to climb tbe 
tree, and met with such success that he did not notice the ap- 
proach of night. Suddenly the darkness came upon him and 
he thought how far he was from home, in a large and dense 
wood filled with "varmints" and "ghost-ies." In bis hurry to 
get down the tree his foot slipped, owing to the smoothness of 
the bark, and it being also damp from the rain, which caused 
him to hng the tree tightly, though he could not stop himself 
until he struck a close fork. Here he found himself in a strad- 
dling position and completely wedged by the momentum of the 
slide. This fact, together with the fast closing in of the night, 
very much terrified him. He instinctively began to pray vocif- 
erously for deliverance, using all the strength he had to extri- 
cate himself, but to no avail. Suddenly he said the idea dawn- 
ed upon him that he had thus far in life served the devil, 
whom he had seen fit to call "Rock," and had no business ask- 
ing the Lord for favors. So he immediately swore at "Rock" 
to take him from his perilous position, and again making a 
strong effort, he removed himself from the crotch of the tree, 
and was perfectly satisfied with the business promptness of his 
deliverer. 

One spicy old character known in slavery days was "Billy." 
He seemed then almost antediluvian but lived many years after 
the emancipation. Having been "bruug up" by a family of 
good christian people by the name of Jump, "Billy" adopted 
the name of William Henry Jump. His knowledge of letters 
was so limited that he merely remembered the names of a few, 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



219 




220 LA.ND OP LEGENDARY LORE. 

and it had beeu so long that he imagined he had forgotten far 
more than most people knew. Whenever "Billy" was asked if 
he knew so-and-so, would invariably answer that he "uster but 
had forgotten it." 

"Did you know the dictionary by heart ?" a wag asked one 
day. 

"Awh yes, sah, I uster say it backards, I knewed it so well, 
but I'se done gone disremembered it now." 

"Did you ever know geography and grammar?" 

"Yes, done knowed dat, too, long ago, but hit's 'scaped my 
dismembrance. ' ' 

"How about mathematics, can you figure ?" 

"Figger ? figger 1 ? land sakes, boss, I could tigger all roun' de 
corn crib and keep tally wid de cob." 

"Can you write?" 

"Not uow, sah, but I uster." 

"Let's hear you spell, "Billy." Spell 'tobacco.' ' 

"B-a-t, 'bacco." 

"Spell 'possum.' " 

"P-o-s, possum." 

"Spell your name." 

"W-i-1, Willum — R-a-n-d, Henry, — J-a-m-p — Jump, William 
H. Jump." 

And the old darky pronounced his name in full after spelling, 
with that gusto which gave him all the satisfaction that the 
fullest quaff from a Pierian could have given a Solomon. 

Another character on seeing the incandescent lights in Easton 
for the first time, was curious to know "what kind of ile do dey 
burn in dem 'lection lights'?" 

Some years since a preacher who came to Talbot, and styled 
himself a 1 eccalite minister, attracted wide attention among his 
fellows by his deep and incomprehensible learning. He preach- 
ed until he was hoarse, rolled up his sleeves stamped the pul- 
pit, smote the Bible with his clenched fist and thundered elo- 
quence into his audience until he reached the climax he worked 
so hard to obtain. This was a due appreciation of his learning 
and power recognized by ejaculations all over the room and un- 
to the farther corners, such as : 

"Listen to him, sista' ; brudda, hear him talk !" 

"Mm-mm, now he's preachin', " etc. 



THE HUMOROUS SIDE OF THE NEGRO 221 

And when the entire audience would be responding audibly 
with all the commendatory expressions they could lay tongue 
to, the preacher would mop his brow and ask for a hymn. 

These performances became so noted that whenever certain 
young white fellows wanted to be entertained they would station 
themselves upon the outside of the low frame edifice and listen. 
On one occasion a reporter accompanied them and took the 
following stenographic account, the accuracy of which is not 
questioned , and recorded here as fact : Gesticulating wildly as 
described, the preacher began on the favorite theme of magni- 
fying the greatness of Jehovah. 

"De Lawd made de heabens and de yearf, and de sea, an' 
all dat transmographies the atmosphere." 

"Listen to'im, listen to'im." 

"But what yo' know about what dat means! You don't 
know, 'cause yo' hain't been lucified. I's been ' struct ed in de 
mafematies, an' I knows." 

"Yes, yo' do — 'deed yo' do." 

"Ef a strain of cayers could run a million yeahs, wid steam up, 
dey would not reach de circumboundary lines of dis yearft, an' 
yet de ole moon climbs dem hills every night and slides down 
de odder side jest as easy as a black snake 'mong de reeds, an' 
de moon doan quire no steam." 

"Dat's a fac, brudda', dat's a fac." 

"Dis yearf is bigger'h'dat, an' I might as well tell yo', if you 
doan know how big et is. Hit is twenty-five million miles 
in diameter, an' eight fousand miles across de beam." 

"Hear dat will yo', hear dat, honey! Lord bless us !" 

And thus the discourse continued, but after some weeks of an 
ineffectual effort to subsist by his deep learning and eloquence, 
the preacher left the county, and abandoned the hope of build- 
ing up a new congregation in Easton. 

The church, eampmeeting or protracted meeting is where the 
colored rustic is at his best, and at such times his superstitions 
are boundless. Much singing and shouting, however, will suffice 
to keep old "Sattin" at bay. If his feet itch in church service, 
"Sattin" is tickling him ; if he sleeps in church, "Sattin" is 
soothing him ; if he yawn, 'Sattin" will jump in his mouth. 

Brother Gardner's Lime Kiln Club could not have much ex- 
aggerated some of the characters well known among the colored 



333 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

people of this section to day — though it is said with regret that 
the old type is fast passing away to give place to the modern - 
schooled negro. 

One old specimen of Hammondtown — a suburb of Easton, a 
"darkey befo' de wah" and raised in Richmond, was lead into 
argument relative to the Bible. He said that the preacher told 
his congregation that the Bible said for man not to do labor on 
Sunday. The gentleman, desiring to draw him out as much as 
possible, said that the Bible said no such thing — that the word 
'Sunday' could not be found in it. The old colored man would 
not give up, but insisted the preacher was right until the gentle- 
man told him to go to the preacher and have him to show the 
passage of scripture and if it were found, the gentleman would 
support the family of the colored man in question, one whole 
year. This proposition was gladly acceeded to, and the conver- 
sation came to an end The next day the old man from Ham- 
mondtown was sought and inquiry made as to his success with 
the preacher, and he reported the case about as follows : 

"Boss, dat preacher said dat sartin, sho ! but I got feared to 
ax him to splanify, so I said to my boy after supper las' night, 
'hea, sot yo'self dar by that table and take dat Bible an' read 
twell you comes to de place where de Lawd disrebukes working 
on Sunday,' an' dat boy read an' read untwell he don eread clean 
through d J book an' it took him to mos' 'leven o'clock and he say 
dey ain't no such place in de Bible. So I guess, boss, yo' is 
about right an' when dat preacher axes fo' increase of salary, I, 
as one of de elders will extortion him." 

A well-known gentleman in the lower part of Talbot relates 
the following : 

On one occasion an old and reliable "darky" appeared on the 
scene very early one morning and I said to him, "Why are you 
out so early this morning?" "why," said he, "do you call this 
early! I have been up for the last four hours. I bought a jug 
of whisky, late yesterday, and my desire tuis morning 
for a drink made me wake up that soon, but I heard that if one 
commenced drinking in the morning before the roosters crowed, 
he would be sure to get drunk before night, and not wishiug to 
get drunk, I waited to hear the chickens crow. I waited, and 
waited and waited, and still no crowing, so I proceeded to light 
a lantern, and went to the chicken house to see if they were 



THE HUMOROUS SIDE OF THE NEGRO 223 

dead, or had been stolen, and found them all quiet on their 
roosts. I had no time piece and my desire for the drink was 
strong. I then began stirring around among them hoping to 
start them to crowing but to no avail. I then concluded I 
would just have to wait, so I returned to the house and waited, 
and after a long time the crowing commenced, and also the 
drinking. So you see if the chickens had been up with me I 
would have been here four hours ago." 

These illustrations are upon the humorous side of the "nat- 
ural negro" — but there are other views of character which pro- 
tray oftentimes the deepest sentiment — lofty feeling — purest 
motive — and pathetic endurance. 



224 



LAND OF LESSNDARY LORE 




BATHING IN THE PEACH BLOSSOM. 




ON THE HURRICANE DECK DOWN THE CHOPTANK. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

TALBOT'S RECOGNITION OF LA FAYETTE. 

EMORY points vividly to the days 
of American history when General 
La Fayette made his second visit 
to this country. The recognition 
which Talbot gave to that event 
has been recorded in the public 
prints of that day ; and as late as 
the nineteenth day of October, 1898, 
the school children of Talbot 
county contributed a large sum of 
money toward the erection of the La Fayette monument to be 
unveiled at the Paris Exposition in 1900, and appropriate exer- 
cises were recommended throughout the public schools to com- 
memorate the day as "La Fayette Day." From the files of the 
Easton Gazette of September eleventh, 1824, the following ac- 
count is taken : 




PROPOSED CONVENTION 

OF 

The People of Talbot County, to welcome 

GENERAL LA FAYETTE upon his arrival in the United States. 

The inhabitants of the county from their own knowledge, or 
from history, or by tradition, are well acquainted with the es- 
sential assistance rendered to this country by General La Fayette 
in the achievement of its independence and in the establish- 
ment of its liberties, and must be presumed to be always willing 
to acknowledge their gratitude to him for the share of these 
blessings which they enjoy. But as it will be' scarcely practi- 
cable for them to wait upon the General, on his arrival in Balti- 
more, to express their sentiments in person, and it might be a 
subject of extreme regret if so suitable an occasion of forward- 
ing their congratulations should be omitted ; 



226 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

It is therefore proposed that a meeting of the people of Tal- 
bot county be held at the court house, in Easton, on Saturday 
the eighteenth day of September instant, at twelve o'clock, for 
the purpose of enabling them to express their sense of his services 
and virtues, to declare their satisfaction at his arrival in the 
United States, and to greet him with that cordial welcome which 
his association with Washington during the Revolution, his con- 
tinued love of liberty, and his attachment to the institutions of 
our country, so justly entitle him to receive. The people are 
respectfully and earnestly invited to attend accordingly. 

THE WISH OF MANY CITIZENS. 

Talbot county, September 6, 1824- . 

The suggestions contained in this communication seemed to 
meet with the approbation of the people, and accordingly on the 
twenty-first of September a large public meeting assembled, of 
which we have the following account in the Gazette of October 
twenty-third, 1824. 

LA FAYETTE CONVENTION. 

The citizens of Talbot county, Eastern shore of Maryland, as- 
sembled in the town of Easton on Tuesday, the twenty-first day 
of September, 1824, at twelve o'clock to express their feelings 
on the arrival of General La Fayette in America. 

Major Gneral Benson was called to chair, and Tench Tilgh- 
man chosen Secretary. The chairman stated the object of the 
assemblage after which Robert H. Goldsborough, Esq., rose, and 
addressed the convention in a feeling and eloquent appeal, por- 
traying the prominent acts of the life of General La Fayette, 
and closed by submitting the following resolution : 

That a committee of persons be appointed to consult, and 

to present to the meeting for their approbation a respectful and 
becoming salutation of General La Fayette, and an expression of 
their sentiments and fellings upon his arrival in these United 
States. 

This resolution was immediately adopted ; the blank filed 
with the number seven, and the following gentlemen, to wit : Gov- 
ernor Stevens, the Honorable Edward Lloyd, Nicholas Hammond, 
Esq., Thomas J. Bullit, Esq., Colonel Daniel Martin, Robert H. 



TALBOT'S RECOGNITION OF LA FAYETTE 227 

Goldsborough, Esq., and John Leeds Kerr, Esq., were se- 
lected by the chair to carry its provisions into effect. The 
committee retired, and the meeting adjourned until three o'clock 
p. m., to receive their report. 

At three p. m. the meeting reassembled, and the committee 
reported the] following address and resolutions, which were 
unanimously adopted : 

The expression of the feelin gs andsentiments of the citizens of Tal- 
bot to General La Fayette upon his arrival in America, presented 
by a deputation appointed for the especial purpose composed of 
Major General Benson, Robert R. Goldsborough, Esq., and the 
Hon. Edward Lloyd. 

The Freemen of Talbot county, on the Eastern Shore of Mary- 
land participating in the universal joy, that is diffused through- 
out this country at the arrival of General La Fayette upon the 
shores of the United States, welcome him as the tried friend of 
the illustrious founder of the Eepublic, their beloved Washing- 
ton, and as one of the boldest adventurers in the achievement 
of American Independence. 

They hail him as the noble and disinterested friend of liberty and 
of mankind. 

Gratitude is a sentiment, that belongs to generous hearts, and 
it becomes Freemen to cherish and express it. The homage of 
respect is due to merit, but the adulation of servility has no 
abode with us. 

The remembrance of great actions is sweet, the pleasure of 
expressing that recollection to the hero, who has performed 
them, is the pride of the free and the duty of the virtuous. 

Therefore Resolved — That we fully participate in the univer- 
sal joy that is felt by all classes of our fellow countrymen at the 
long desired arrival of General La Fayette — 

Resolved — That we receive him as the guest of the nation and 
as a citizen of Maryland — as one of those illustrious and gener- 
ous benefactors, to whom we are indebted, under Providenee, 
for the enjoyment of national independence, and equal liberty 
and rights. 

Resolved — That the arrival of General La Fayette in our 
country has infused into us a more lively recollection of a period 



828 LAICD OF LEGENDARY LORE 

and of the scenes, that ought never to be forgotten ; because it 
was a time of magnanimous struggle in the best of causes ; and 
a sacrifice of brave men and of honest patriots for the freedom 
and prosperity of that country, which we now inhabit and en- 
joy. 

Resolved — That a deputation of three citizens be appointed to 
wait upon General La Fayette in the name of the freemen of 
Talbot, to present him with these expression of their sentiments 
towards him, and to say to him, that although as a. plain, frugal 
country people, we have not the means of adding splendour to 
his progress nor of furnishing luxurious banquets to entertain 
him, yet we have hearts faithful to love him, and ingenuous- 
ness to bear exulting testimony to his great worth — that his 
name and his glory are familiar to us and to our children, and 
that he will live as he ought to do, in the affections of Ameri- 
cans to the latest ages, and hold a merited station in the fore- 
ground of American history — That so dear has he ever been to 
the American people, they have marked and admired his 
course, in his native country, since he left us ; and if he, as one 
of the fathers of the French Constitution of '89, was, with other 
friends of public liberty and popular rights, foiled in their 
noble and patriotic exertions by events which no human efforts 
control, they regard the grand attempt, as worthy of a man who 
had signalized himself in aiding in the achievement of Ameri- 
can Independence with better fortune and with a happier fate. 

Resolved — That it is our sincere wish, that General La Fayette 
would call his family to him from France and spend the re- 
mainder of his years in our country, that the remnant of his 
life he might enjoy with us a portion of that happiness, which 
has been so disinterestedly and eminently instrumental in pro- 
curing for our country, and that our fellow countrymen might 
have an opportunity of testifying to him more calmly their 
gratitude, their veneration, and their love. 

The convention selected Major General Benson, Eobert H. 
Goldsborough, Esq., and the Hon. Edward Lloyd, the deputa- 
tion, to wait on General La Fayette on his arrival in Baltimore, 
and present to him the Address, Resolutions, and congratula- 
lations of the freemen of Talbot. The following resolution was 
also submitted and adopted : 



TALBOT'S RECOGNITION OF LA FAYETTE 



229 



Besolved— That the trustees of the steam boat company be re- 
quested to present to the La Fayette deputation the freedom 
of the Maryland to and from Baltimore for this occasion. 

P. BENSON, Chairman. 

Attest, Tench Tilghman, Secretary. 

There is no doubt that this address and these resolutions 
were from the eloquent pen of the Hon. Eobert H. Goldsbor- 
ough. They were presented, by the committee appointed for 
the purpose, to General La Fayette during his sojourn in the 
city of Baltimore. At the time of the presentation he gave a 
verbal reply, and promised to furnish the committee an answer 
in writing, but as no record is made of any such in the public 
prints of the day, it is presumable, amidst the multiplicity of 
similar demands, it was wholly forgotten. 

The people of the county having been dissappointed in their 
first attempt to prevail upon General La Fayette to visit Talbot, 
another effort was made, by offering what was thought to be a 
pleasant inducement for him to come. The Maryland Agricul- 
tural Society was then in full vigor of its usefulness. Under its 
auspices cattle shows were held upon the eastern and western 
shores. In the year 1822 the first of these bucolic festivals or 
fetes for the Eastern Shore was held at Easton, and in 1824 it 
was proposed to hold the second, or the fifth counting those 
held on the Western Shore. The Agricultural Society at one of 
its meetings in Easton elected General La Fayette, who had al- 
ways professed great partiality for rural pursuits, an honorary 
member, and a committee, consisting of Governor Samuel 
Stevens, Robert H. Goldsborough, Esq., and General Perry 
Benson, was appointed to express to that distinguished gentle- 
man the pleasure experienced by the society in having his 
name enrolled among its membership, also to tender an invita- 
tion to him and his suite to attend the cattle show to be held in 
Easton on the eighteenth day of November, 1821. To this invi- 
tation and the notification of his election the General returned 
this reply, from the seat of Mr. Jefferson, where he was the 

honored guest : 

Monticello, November 12, 1824. 

-The honor I have received on being made a member of the Mary- 
land Agricultural Society is highly valued by me, and I most sin. 



230 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

cerely lament the impossibility I am under to attend the exhibition 
on the Eastern Shore. My utmost expectation is to be able to 
arrive in time for the last day of the second exhibition near Balti- 
more, an object upon which I am now writing to a friend in that 
city. The date of your letter will itself offer an apology, as I am en- 
gaged after this visit to stop a few days at Montpelier, Mr. Madison's 
seat, to dine at Orange Court House, to yisit Fredericksburg, and 
be one or two days in Washington city. These particulars I take 
the liberty to lay before you, as an excuse, wbich I hope will be ac- 
ceptable, as well as the expression of my grateful and affectionate 
respect. LA FAYETTE." 

P. Benson, Esq., 

Easton,Talbot County, 

Eastern Shore Maryland. 

It is a matter of interesting reminiscence that those pre- 
miums, which were in the form of pieces of silver plate, that 
were awarded at this cattle show as well as those awarded at 
the cattle show upon the western shore, had this inscription fol- 
lowing after the recipient's name : "From the Agricultural 
Society by the hands of La Fayette." — Some of these premiums 
still exist in the country, and are estimated beyond their in- 
trinsic value on account of the pleasing associations connecting 
them with our great national benefactor. 

Although the large body of our people were debarred from 
the privilege of seeing General La Fayette, and of expressing 
to him in person their admiration of his character, and their 
gratitude for his services, large numbers visited the city of 
Baltimore during his stay, and made up a portion of the throng 
that saluted him in his progress through the streets of the joy- 
ous city. The steamer Maryland then new, under the command 
of Captain Clement Vickers, and the various sailing packets, 
were employed in conveying those citizens who were anxious to 
gratify a laudable curiosity, and indulge a pleasing sentiment, 
to and from the city, and many took their children with them, 
that they might have it to say in after years, their eyes had 
rested on the unselfish benefactor of their country, and that 
they might witness with what acclaim freemen could reward 
this champion of civil liberty throughout the world. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



SOME EARLY RECOLLECTIONS. 




OC AL annals of Talbot county have 
suffered greatly because there are 
so few memoirs of events that pre- 
ceded the Revolutionary war 
Newspapers, those repositories so 
invaluable to the local historian 
had not begun to be published with- 
in the bounds of Talbot, and the 
court and church records that have 
been presented are meagre in mention or details of any local 
occurrences caused by the struggle for independence. 

There is one record in the keeping of the clerk of the court, 
dated 1765 to 1768 which gives account of the action taken by 
the county court, on Tuesday, November first, 1765, on the 
famous "Stamp Act," passed by the British Parliament, which 
imposed a stamp tax on all legal documents, newspapers, pam- 
phlets, etc. The county court "finding it impossible at this 
time to comply with the said act, adjourned the court until the 
first Tuesday in March seventeen hundred and sixty-six," and 
took "into consideration the mischievous consequences that 
might arise from proceeding to do business in the manner pre- 
scribed by the above mentioned act of Parliament, and as it 
would be highly penal to do anything contrary to the directions 
of the act, would not open nor hold any court." 

Public sentiment in the county was clearly expressed which 
may account for the phrase -''mischievous consequences" used 
above. The court was unwilling to place itself between two fires ? 
popular indignation and legal penalties, so it wisely refused to 
hold court at all by adjourning. 

An old periodical known as "Carey's Museum" of July, 1788, 
contains an account of the indignation meeting held at Talbot 
Court House (now Easton) when an effigy of a stamp informer 
was hung from a gibbet in front of th« court house door. The 



23?- LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE. 

intense feeling of the time is clearly seen in the following ac- 
count : 

"RESOLUTIONS OP THE FREEMEN OF TALBOT COUNTY, 11 

"MARYLAND," 

"November, 25, 1765. " 

"The Freemen of Talbot County assembled at the Court House 
of said county, do in the most solemn manner declare to the world : 

I. "That they bear faith and true allegiance to his Majesty, 
King George III. 

II. "That they are most affectionately and zealously attached 
to his person and family ; and are fully determined, to the utmost 
of their power, to maintain and suport his crown and dignity and 
the succession as by law established ; and do with the greatest 
cheerfulness submit to his government according to the known 
and just principles of "British Constitution; and do unanimously 
resolve : 

I. "That under the Royal Charter granted to this Province, 
they and their ancestors have long enjoyed, and they think them- 
selves entitled to enjoy all the rights of British subjects. 

II. "That they consider the trial by jury, and the privilege of 
being taxed only with their consent, given by their legal representa- 
tives in assembly, as the principle foundation, and the main source 
of all their libei'ties. 

ill. "That by the Act of Parliament lately passed, for raising 
stamp duties in America, should it take place, both of these invalu- 
able privileges enjoyed in their full extent, by their fellow subjects 
in Great Britain, would be torn from them ; and that therefore the 
same is, in their opinion, unconstitutional invasive of their just 
rights, and tending to excite disaffection in the breast of every 
American subject. 

iv. "That they will at the risk of their lives and fortunes en- 
deavor by all lawful ways and means, to preserve and transmit to 
their posterity their rights and liberties, in as full and ample a man- 
ner as they received the same from their ancestors ; and will not by 
any act of theirs countenance or encourage the execution or effect of 
the said Stamp Act. 

v. "That they will detest, abhor and hold in the utmost cont- 
empt, all and every person or persons who shall meanly accept of 
any employment or office relating to the Stamp Act ; or shall take 
any shelter or advantage under the same ; and all and every stamp- 
pimp, informer or favorer of the said Act ; and that they will have 
no commuication with any such persons, except it be to upbraid 
them with their baseness. 

"And in testimony of this their fixed and unalterable resolution, 
they have this day erected a gibbet, twenty feet high, before the 



LAND OF liEGENDARY LORE 



2:!:; 




RUINS OF OLD WHITE MARSH CHURCH. 



► 




v ■ ■';'" ; '" 

\ iL A 1/ ' 


■i> . | 


\1 


E^SlM 






|L| 


S^I^Sril 






h\-^^^P* 


■£'; 7''^ 


- 


Hfl*pS§Miiil 
I'm J gK 

J i* 


L^&r^ *' 






L 


r 



A STREET SCENE IN OXFORD. 



Photographs hy J. E. Dodson, Baltimore. 



234 LAND OF LESENDARY LORE 

court house door, and hung in chains thereon the effigy of a stamp 
informer, there to remain in terror em, till the Stamp Act shall be re- 
pealed." 

His Excellency, Horatio Sharpe was the next to the last Pro- 
prietary Governor of Maryland, and after serving for sixteen 
years was succeeded by Eobert Ed«n, Esq. 

Before the time of the removal of Governor Sharpe, those po- 
litical questions which were at the foundation of the revolt of the 
colonies against England were in agitation among the people 
of this state, and although our historians give no intimation 
that such was the fact, it is not improbable that he was, at 
heart, in sympathy with that spirit of independence which was 
then appearing, notwithstanding he, in his public declarations, 
maintained the proprietary rights, and defended the royal pre- 
tensions. The following address gives countenance to this sur- 
mise, for it is hardly probable that the justices of Talbot county, 
who were men from the people, would have spoken to him and 
of him in so complimeutry and affectionate a tone, had they not 
been assured of Governor Sharpe 's secret sympathy with their 
own opinions and aspirations. But this is inferential only. 
The "Worshipful Commisioners and Justices of the Peace" 
whose names are signed to the letter, have almost all represent- 
atives in a near or remote degree of relationship in the country, 
to this day. 



To Horatio Sharpe, Esq., late Governor of Maryland.— Sir :— The 
Right Honorable, the Lord Proprietary of this Province, haying 
been pleased to appoint bis Excellency, Robert Eden, Esq , a near 
relation of his Lordship, to succeed you in this Government — permit 
us, sir, on taking leave of you as our Governor, gratefully to ac- 
knowledge the mildness and equity of your administration, and the 
benefits and happiness which have flowed from it to the people of 
this Province. 

Ever since you have presided over us, we have observed, with 
pleasure, your steady care to have the laws duly executed, and 
justice impartially administered and that a desire to promote the 
good of this Province hath been the ruling motive of all your ac 
tions. Such motives and such action worthy of those that are ap- 
pointed to rule, must render your memory dear to a grateful people 

Your public vitues impressed us with esteem and reverence for the 
magistrate, whilst your social virtues inspired us with the warmest 
affection for the man, and must now give you the heart-felt pleasure 



SOME EARLY RECOLLECTIONS 235 

of being followed into your retirement by the prayers and blessings 
of a people you made happy. But virtue like yours will not be 
suffered to remain long sequestered from the world, and happy will 
that favored people be, over whom his Majesty shall hereafter ap- 
point you to preside. 

RlSDON BOZMAN, 
John GrOLDSBOROUGH, 
Robert Goldsborogh, 
Edwin Oldham, 
James Dickinson, 
Jonathan Nicols, 
William Martin. 

the reply op governor sharpe. 

To Risdon Bozman, Esq.. Chief Justice of Talbot County. — The 
very polite and affectionate address I have received from the 
justices of Talbot county, since the arrival of the worthy gentleman, 
appointed to succeed me in the government of this Province, de- 
mands my grateful acknowledgements, which, sir, I desire the favor 
of you to present to them. As it was the heighth of my ambition to 
discharge the trust reposed in me by the Lord Preprietary, to the 
satisfaction of his Lordship, and the good of the people over whom 
I have the honour to preside, the assurances that have been given 
me that my endeavors were not unsuccessful, make me quite happy. 
In whatever state I may pass the remainder of my life, my sincere 
wishes for the prosperity of Maryland will never cease, and nothing 
can afford me greater satisfaction than to know it flourishes more un- 
der the administration of my successor than it did during mine, or 
in any former period. I am, Sir, 

Your most obed't, humble servant, 

HORATIO SHARPE. 

Annapolis, June 24, 1769. 



Of the^political annals of the county none stand out more 
clearly in the memory of the older citizens than the great Whig- 
meeting of 1840, during the campaign of log cabins, coon skins, 
and hard- cider, which was an epoch in the history of Easton. It- 
was held on the grounds of which Spring Hill cemetery now forms 
a part, this with the adjoining land comprising quite a held. 
Large! shade trees were taken from the woods and planted out 
over the grounds in great numbers. Invitations were extended 
to most of the leading Whig orators and statesmen of the day ; 
Clay had a special committee to wait on him in Washington and 
insist upon his attendance. The old chieftain informed the com- 



236 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

uiittee that his public duties might preclude his attendance in 
person, but if he did not come, he would send in his place "a 
man who could beat the world upon the stump — 'Old Grit,' of 
Kentucky," and him he did send. Our people were charmed 
with the homely looking and plainly dressed old Kentuckian, 
and roused to the highest enthusiasm by his burning words of 
eloquence and power. One of the most sumptuous dinners ever 
seen on such an occasion was prepared. Mr. Kerr had a dinner 
for the orators, to which the old Kentuckian was invited ; but 
after his speech he went up and surveyed the dinner table, 
spread with all the Eastern Shore luxuries. He looked at it for 
some time in silence, and then said : "I have never seen any- 
thing like this, even in old Kentuck — the land of barbecues 
and stump speakers. The people too, like my people, — I must 
dine right here !" Graves, of Kentucky, was present and spoke 
at the meeting ; Reverdy Johnson, George R. Richardson, and 
many others. The enthusiasm was kept up until late at night. 
Nine steamboats from Baltimore and elsewhere aided in bringing 
the multitude. The line "cool spring" in the meadow adjoining 
suplied water for the thousands. In the evening the speakers' 
stand broke down whilst Mr. Graves was speaking ; fortunately 
on one was was hurt. The numbers present were variously esti- 
mated at between fifteen and twenty thousand. The Whig ava- 
lanche over the country that year is well known, resulting in the 
election of General Harrison to the Presidency. 

Easton has a remarkable relic in the shape of the first market 
house ever built in the twon. It is located on Harrison street, 
near Goldsborough street, and is one and a half stories high, 
built of brick. It was erected in 1790 and was used as a market 
until 1801, when a subscription having been made by the citi- 
zens, a new one was erected on Washington street near the site 
of the present market. In 1813 it was destroyed by fire, an- 
other building was erected and used until 1869, when another, 
more modern and commodous, was erected with town hall above. 
This was also destroyed by fire in 1878, which was replaced 
immediately by the present handsome building, an illustration 
of which appears in this volume. 

The most ancient and the most honorable of the charitable 
organizations in Easton is that of the Masons. It is probable 



SOME EARLY RECOLLECTIONS 237 

that a lodge existed in this town as far back as 1764. Here in 
1781, was instituted the Grand Lodge of Maryland in the old 
Court House, and for six years continued to hold its sessions in 
that building, since which time this Lodge has met in Balti- 
more. In 1802, St. Thomas Lodge, No. 37, was charted, secured 
the old market building on Harrison street, and held its meet- 
ings in the "loft." This place continued to be used by the 
several lodges for Masonic purposes until 1857. St. Thomas 
Lodge went down in 1806, and Masonry was not revived in 
Easton until 1823, at which time Lodge No. 76, was first 
organized and adopted the name Coats' Lodge, in honor of the 
Grand Master of Maryland, and an Easton i an by adoption. 
This lodge also went down, and in 1855, on the twelveth of May, 
in the room on Harrison street was instituted the present lodge. 
It likewise assumed the name of Coats, No. 102. In 1860, when 
the building on the southeast corner of Washington and 
Dover streets was erected. Coats' Lodge furnished a proportion" 
ate part of building fund, and thereby secured far more 
comfortable quarters in the third story of the building ; here 
this lodge continued to meet until the erection of the hand 
some Temple on Washington street in 1880, where the order 
now meets. 

That beneficial organization which has remained intact the 
greatest length of time in Easton, and which at present con- 
tains the largest membership and represents the greatest wealth, 
is Miller Lodge, I. O. O. F. It was instituted in 1833, with 
forty-three charter members. The original meeting place 
of the lodges was a building known as "Washington Hall" 
that stood on Washington street, nearly opposite the Point road. 
In 1 839 a building standing on the corner of Washington street 
and Market space, originally intended for a hotel but never 
completed, was procured. Here the third story was fitted up 
for the purposes of the order, and in 1853 meetings were first 
heldhere. On Sunday, the 4th of March, 1855, another ter- 
rible conflagration laid this property and that in its immediate 
neighborhood in ruins, the burning shingles being carried to 
other portions of the town and destroying several houses. Miller 
Lodge replaced the burnt building with an excellent structure in 
the following year, when in 1878, on the morning of October 
first, this property was destroyed by the fire which swept the 



238 LAND OF LBSENDART LORE 

entire length of Market space, taking in its course the Market 
House and Town Hall. With characteristic energy the mem- 
bers of the order immediately proceeded to erect another build- 
ing, which was dedicated September 25th, 1879. This last 
building claims to be the handsomest structure on the East- 
ern Shore, and is uudoubtly the handsomest Odd Fellows' Hall 
in the State of Maryland. 

The great speculation fever which swept the countryl from 
1835 to 1840, and brought about the terrible collapse in 1837, 
had its victims here. It attacked the people of Talbot through 
the medium of the silk worm. The food of this insect is the 
species of mulberry, technically known as Morus Multicaulis. In 
1J-38, the desire to invest money in the purchase of the "sets" 
of this plant seized nearly every one who could raise even a few 
dollars, while some morgaged their farms for this purpose. 
Thus many thousand dollars were spent, and every available spot 
used for setting out the plants. Farmers planted down their 
fields, and citizens of the town filled up their gardens, every- 
body expected to be rich in a very short time. At the end of 
the first year the prospect had increased in value five hundred 
per cent.; but the next year the Morus Multicaulis buble burst, 
and only those who were lucky enough to unload after the first 
year, by selling out, were the ones who made by the operation ; 
all others lost, some, as much as ten thousand dollars, and be- 
came utterly ruined. There were a few persons who saw the 
irrationality of a universal and unlimited growth of the food of 
the silk worm, while no attempts were made to propagate the 
worm itself, so these persons established a cocoonery at Mul- 
berry Hill, near the town, and here efforts were made to utilize 
the vast amount of foliage which the mulberry plantations were 
producing. But the enterprise was swamped in the general de- 
luge which soon followed. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

talbot's first schools. 




GLANCE at the educational advan- 
tages given to Talbot from its earliest 
days may prove interesting and serve 
to show that this county has always 
been abreast of the times in matters 
pertaining to learning, both for 
mental discipline and manual dex- 
terity, for the latter was always in- 
cluded as a special course by "in- 
-> ' '.'■? denture" before the boy was con- 

% » sidered competent to battle with the 

problem of life. The system of today deviates from, as well as 
improves upon the old methods, but the training of the whole 
child, body and mind, which includes manual dexterity, is the 
foundation of our present system. It is also interesting to note 
among things recent, that Talbot is the first county in the state 
to introduce manual training and industrial work in her public 
school system, and the example set, no doubt will be rapidly 
followed by other counties. 

Our early records, almost from the organization of the county, 
indicate the presence of school teachers among us. The first 
school master of whom we have any record was one John 
Stevens. It is to be regretted that the only information which 
we gain of him is that in 1680 he was presented by the grand 
jury of the county for being drunk on the Sabbath day at the 
house of John Aldridge, for which he was fined one hundred 
pounds of tobacco. In 1691 we learn of one Thomas Wallis, 
who seems to have lived in Miles River Neck, and had his goods 
and chattels seized for debt by William Hemsley in 16£9. Henry 
Adcock "being a man, well skilled in the art of teaching good 
letters," kept school in Miles river (this may have been intend- 
ed for Miles creek in Trappe district) sued William Warrilowe, 
in 1693 for the amount of his tuition fee of four hundred pounds 



240 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




TALBOT'S FIRST SCHOOLS 241 

of tobacco for teaching and instructing "his son William War- 
rilowe, Jr., in good letters and manners for and during the term 
of one year." Henry Adcock was not only cast in his suit, but 
had to pay two hundred and forty-two pounds of tobacco for his 
"false clamour" against William Warrilowe. The names of 
many other early Talbot teachers could be given if necessary. In 
the year 1723 a law was passed by the General Assembly of the 
state for the establishment of one free school in every county, 
provision having been made by preceding assemblies for raising 
a fund for the purpose. In conformity with this law. the board 
of visitors for Talbot county, therein named, the Eev. Henry 
Mcols, Colonel Matthew Tilghman Ward, Robert Ungle, Esq., 
Mr. Robert Goldsborough, Mr. William Clayton, Mr. John Old- 
ham and Mr. Thomas Bozman, purchased in the year 1727, for 
the use of this school, one hundred acres of land, being a part 
of Tilghman 's Fortune and lying between St. Michaels and 
Third Haven rivers, and upon Betty's cove. 

Here a school-house was built, and a public school was kept 
for many years, in which was educated as many charity pupils 
as the master should designate This school was upon the land 
formerly owned by Joseph Price's heirs, upon the left of the 
road to St Michaels, in which parish it was located. But there 
is a notice of the existence of a public school in St. Peter's as 
early as 1724, in a report made by the Rev. Daniel Maynadier, 
to the Bishop of London, of the condition of his parish. This 
school may have been organized under the law of 1723-4. 

The Rev. Thomas Bacon purchased of David Robinson several 
parcels of land, adjoining each other, "for the use and benefit 
of a charity school intended to be set up and supported in the 
parish of St. Peter's * * for the maintenance and education of 
orphans and other children." This school occupied what is 
now part of the alms house. 

From these and other instances that might be adduced if 
necessary, it is very clear that schools and school houses were 
common and that a plain education, from the first., was within 
the reach of almost every one. But there are evidences also, of 
a desire upon the part of the more wealthy of the county, even 
at an early day, that their children should have a better edu- 
cation than could be afforded by the schools of the county. Thus 
Michael Howard, a distinguished lawyer of Talbot, provides in 



242 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

his will, proven in 1737, that his nephew Michael William 
Howard should be sent to Westminster school and then to 
King's College, Cambridge, England. 

William Harper provides by his will of 1739 that the tutor 
of his son Samuel Clayland Harper, shall be paid double what 
he vras paid for the tuition of other children. Mr. Harper's 
judgment was better than his orthography, for he says "at the 
age of fifteen years his son shall be bound out to some emenent 
calling, if his capacity suits, such as a lawyer, phicition or 
merchant, &c.,&c; but if his jennus is not fit for such, let 
himbebouud to some handy craft trade, as his jennus shall 
best suit him, regard being had to the person's exemplary life 
and conversation, to whom he is bound." To the credit of Mr„ 
Harper be it remembered that he directed, in case his son should 
die before he should arrive at the age of twenty that one half of 
his whole fortune with his books should go to the support of the 
Talbot county public school, others, no doubt followed this ex- 
ample of encouragement. 

The very earliest memoranda that are extant indicate that 
schools of a higher order, and taught by men of thorough train- 
ing were patronized in Talbot, a proof of the appreciation of 
something more than the mere jjrincipia of learning. On the 
whole, it may be said with truth, there did not exist that gen- 
eral or even common illiterateness in Talbot which has been at- 
tributed by annalists and historians to our forefathers ; and the 
stories of many people of condition that they could not sign 
their names, are not founded on fact, at least there is not as 
much truth in them as there should be in an assertion that is 
made with such persistent repetition, and so little qualification. 

Mr. Chandler, of the university of Cambrige (England) opened 
a school in Easton on the first Monday in July of 1792. His 
curriculum was extensive, embracing "most of the useful and 
ornamental branches of education" — grammar, writing, arith- 
metic, geography, the Latin, Greek and French languages, logic, 
natural and moral philosphy and English composition, and dec- 
lamation. Mr. Chandler, believed in long as well as hard 
study, for his hours of attendance were in summer, from six to 
eight o'clock a. m., and from nine o'clock a. m., to twelve 
o'clock m., and from two to five o'clock p. m. ; in winter, the 
early morning session was pretermitted. Mr. Chandler, was sue 



TALBOT'S FIRST SCHOOLS 243 

ceeded the next year by the Rev. Owen Mag-rath, a graduate of 
the University of Dublin, Ireland. 

But extensive as was the course of Mr. Chandler, it was sur- 
passed by that of Mr. B. M, Ward, who in 1792, had already 
been teaching six years at the Trappe. His course of instruc- 
tion comprised the following : "Reading, writing, English 
grammar, (he omitted the Latin, Greek and French languages) 
vulgar and decimal arithmetic, and accomptship, instrumental 
and logarithmetical arithmetic, and algebra, geometry, trigono- 
metry, mensuration, applied to a variety of mechanical branches, 
architecture according to the five orders, gauging, surveying, geog- 
raphy, navigation, the use of the celestial and terrestial globes, ex- 
hibited in a number of useful problems, astronomy, both abso- 
lute and comparative, &c, &c; and the practical uses of the 
instruments appropriate to each branch, the whole taught 
according to the newest and most approved system at six 
pounds (or sixteen dollars) per annum." Certainly he of" 
fered his intellectual wares at very low figure. But Mr. 
Ward's course in its turn, was surpassed by that of Michael 
Ryan, who in 1798, opened a school "at Wye, near Mr. 
John Thomas." This gentleman, Mr. Ward, was in 1793 em- 
ployed by Mr. Magrath in his school in Easton, as an as- 
sistant in the English branches. The school established by 
Mr. Chandler, and subsequently taught by Mr. Magrath was 
the germ of the Easton Academy. After the re-election of Mr. 
Magrath, in 1795, to a professorship in St. John's College, 
which institution he had previously left to take charge of the 
school in Easton, a plan for the foundation of an institution, 
was "submitted to the consideration of the friends of learning 
and liberty in our neighborhood." The plan seems to have 
proven acceptable, and June 13th of that year a "Grammar 
School" under the care of the Rev. Joseph Jackson, was inau- 
gurated. 

A long and able address from the board of visitors of this 
school, recommended it to the favorable notice of the people of 
the county. In this address written in all probability by the 
Rev. Dr. Bowie, it is very sensibly said : The advantages of a 
virtuous educa tion and its influence on men, manners and society, 
are so obvious;, * * * and its importance so universally acknow- 
ledged, that endeavors are less requisite to prove its utility 



244 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

than to establish the means of its accomplishment. 7 ' This was 
the direct initiative of what grew to be the Easton academy, a 
school which survived down to the time of the establishment in 
1866, of a high school, under the general school law. The act 
incorporating this school was passed in 1799, the legislature 
having at its previous session in 1798 passed act, appropriating 
eight hundred dollars to an academy to be established in Tal- 
bot county, of which John Edmondson, Nicholas Hammond, 
Samuel Chamberlaine, Thomas J. Bullitt, William Hayward, 
Ennalls Martin and Stephen Theodore Johnson, were the trus- 
tees. To the direct and indirect influence of this school much 
of the literary culture of tne county in subsequent years may be 
traced. 




CHAPTEK XXXV. 

EAKLY INDUSTRIES. 

T no time in the history of Talbot has the 
idea of dependency been uppermost. The 
principle of independence has been fostered 
and encouraged from the earlest. While it 
has always been necessary to depend upon 
other places for those necessities which could 
not be provided at home, yet it was ever 
conceded that Talbot could raise or manu- 
facture a sufficient surplus of one thing or 
another to give the balance of trade in her 
favor. This has been so persistently followed, that the county 
stands to-day one of the, wealthiest of this section of the tide 
water counties. 

The county of Talbot has been from the date of its plant- 
ing, and must ever continue to be almost exclusively agri- 
cultural in its pursuits. Manufactures and commerce have 
always been of subordinate importance, and from the absence 
of water power and mineral deposits, and from its peninsular 
situation, with no large area of tributary country, these indus- 
tries are not likely ever to acquire any predominance. Mining 
is wholly unknown to us, unless the lifting the fossil shell de- 
posits, to be utilized in fertilizing our lands, be considered a 
kind of mining. Even our fisheries, until within a compara- 
tively recent date, when the oyster beds of our bays and es- 
tuaries became a source of wealth, were insignificant and were 
confined to the supply of a merely local or very limited de- 
mand. Early agriculture, like that of the state at large, was re- 
stricted almost exclusively to the raising of tobacco. That 
plant was our staple. It actually made our medium of exchange, 
our currency. Debts were paid, taxes collected, church rates as- 
sessed in tobacco. Xo more grain was produced other than 
what was requisite to supply the wants of the colony, and 
as there was rarely a surplus, there were often periods of 
actual distress for want of bread. Maize was the principal 



246 LAND OF LE6ENDARY LORE 

cereal product that was reared, and hence it was called par ex- 
cellence corn. The bread made from it was that which was in 
common use, flour from wheat being the luxury of the rich. 
The culture of tobacco continued up to the time of the Bevolu- 
tion, when as great a change was effected in our industry as in 
our politics. 

In 1775 there were six warehouses in Talbot county for the 
storage and inspection of tobacco, namely, at Oxford, Kings- 
ton, Head of Wye, Parson's Point, Bruffs' Landing, on Miles 
and Sherwood's Landing on Broad Creek. These which 
not very long after this date were discontinued by or- 
der of the court were each under the care of a sworn in- 
spector, whose certificate of the quality and quantity stor- 
ed with him passed from hand to hand, as a kind of cur- 
rency. Ships from the English ports, London, Liverpool and 
Bristol, visited our county annually, bringing such supplies as 
were needed by the settlers, and going out freighted almost ex- 
clusively with tobacco in the cask. Advertisements of the time 
of sailing of the these ships, their rate of freight, and their 
place of receiving cargo, were made by posting notices in pub- 
lic places, mostly at the court house and the parish churches, 
these being the places of greatest resort, and the towns be- 
ing insignificant. It was the custom for the large planters to 
ship their tobacco direct to their agents in England, but the 
smaller farmers disposed of their crops to the factors of English 
houses settled at several points within the county. When the 
war of Independence broke out, already had the culture of this 
plant begun to be superceded by that of wheat, for a growing- 
trade with the English and Spanish West Indies, had caused 
a demand for flour ; and besides our farmers had discovered that 
their lands were undergoing a rapid impoverishment from a too 
persistent planting of an exhausted crop, while they themselves 
were often reduced to great distress by relying upon a single 
article liable to extraordinary fluctuations of price. 

The coming on of the war of the Revolution, hastened the 
change in our agriculture, which had already begun as early as 
the middle of that century. 

The cutting off of our export trade with the mother country 
in tobacco, and the demand of food for the armies, drove or in- 
vited the farmers to the production of grain ; so that much the 



EARLY INDUSTRIES 247 

greater part of our arable land was withdrawn from the culti- 
vation of the Maryland staple, and devoted to food products. 
Owners of land forbade their tenants from raising tobacco, or 
they allowed it under special contract. Thus Eobert Lloyd 
Mcols in 1797 advertised for rent his immense farm, "Plain- 
dealing, of between two and three thousand acres, and stated as 
an inducement to those disposed to undertake its cultivation 
that "the privilege of making tobacco would be granted." By 
1796 the production of the staple had so far ceased that the to- 
bacco warehouses were abolished by the Levy court : at least 
that at Kingston of which James Dudley was inspector, and 
which, apparently, was the last to be kept in use, was in this 
year discontinued ; and this gentleman advertised that "all per- 
sons having any tobacco remaining in said house are requested 
to take the same away immediately, as I shall not hold myself 
answerable for the same after the 10th of June next." Richard- 
son's warehouse in Caroline had been abolished in 1793. There 
has not been a hogshead of tobacco raised in Talbot county 
for over seventy-five years. 

Baltimore had become the principal market for all our farm 
products. In a card of Thomas Cooper of August 30th, 1793, 
accusing Captain Charles Sherwood with settling with him for 
his wheat at a less price than it was sold for in the city, we not 
only have an intimation that produce was sold by the commanders 
of the vessels, but we also have the price of wheat in December 
1792, namely, eight shillings three pence, or estimating our 
Maryland currency, at 7s. 6d. to the dollar, a bushel of wheat 
sold for one dollar and ten cents, which, considering the rela- 
tive value of money at the two periods, would now be regarded 
as a very remunerative price. Clover seed seems to have been 
introduced somewhere about 1792, and timothy a little earlier. 
The former was recommended in a pamphlet on the "Rotation 
of Crops." 

The following curious advertisement may be found in the 
Herald of December 18th, 1792, and will not only serve to indi- 
cate that this crop was cultivated at the time, but it will also 
illustrate the character of the eccentric gentleman whose name 
is atixed. * * * "A man who can come well recomended as a 
teacher of small children in an English school will meet with 
good encouragement by applying to the subscriber — who has a 



248 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

negro woman to hire, and clover seed for sale. Jacob Gibson, 
Miles river, Talbot county, December 12th, 1792.'' 

The application of machinery to threshing dates back in this 
county to 1803, although the portable machines which are now 
in common use are of a conparatively recent introduction . In 
the year just mentioned Samuel Yarnell and Eobert Moore ad- 
vertised that "Hoxie's Patent Treshing (or ginning) machine, 
is now in full operation and may be seen at Samuel Yarnell 's 
farm near Easton . * * * We may mention that it will with 
three hands and a horse separate one hundred bushels of grain 
from the straw in one day." This differed immensely from 
these steam threshers of the present day. 

In the early years of our county, and up to time of the Bevo- 
lutionary war, our larger planters shipped their own tobacco 
direct to England, and received in return by the same ship 
those luxuries and comforts which could not be procured within 
the colony. These larger planters were also merchants, and 
supplied to their poorer neighbors what they needed of foreign 
wares. But there were agents of English houses, who also were 
merchants and kept supplies of goods for the consumption of 
the colonists, receiving tobacco in payment. All this foreign 
commerce was interrupted by the war of Independence ; and 
after its close, owing to the discontinuance, in a great measure 
of the culture of tobacco, and also to the growing importance of 
the city of Baltimore as a center of trade, there was but a very 
partial revival of the direct intercourse with the mother" country. 
Our agricultural products, passed through the hands of com- 
mission merchants, just as they do now, and our foreign sup- 
plies were obtained mostly through the importing houses of 
Philadelphia and Baltimore. Nevertheless, even as late as 1802, 
and perhaps later, merchandise was imported by the larger 
merchants of the county. Thus, an advertisement of John Petty 
in 1792 states that his goods were imported from London by the 
"William," Captain Bolton ; one of Peter & Samuel Sharp in 
1793, speaking of nails as coming to them direct from London, 
by the ship "Cincinnatus, " and one of Samuel Harrison, of St. 
Michaels, in 1802, sets forth that he expected a general assort- 
ment of goods in the spring direct from London. All these seem 
to indicate that at these several dates the merchants of Talbot 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



249 





MARKET HOUSE AND TOWN HALL, EASTON. 




WINTER SCENE ON NEW OXFORD ROAD. 
Photographs hy J. E. Dodson, Baltimore. 



250 LAND OF LB&ENDARY LORE 

continued to import their wares, without the interposition of 
the foreign traders of the large cities. 

About the time here referred to, in 1791, there was an adver- 
tisement of certain transportation agents, who obligated them- 
selves to carry passengers and freight from Philadelphia to 
Easton. There was a line of packets from the city to New 
Castle, on the Delaware. Thence across the peninsula, to the 
Head of Elk, now Elkton, travelers and freight were trans- 
ported by stages and wagons. From Head of Elk they 
were carried by packet, via Annapolis, to Easton Point. By 
this route passengers paid a fare of one pound one shilling, 
and heavy freight was charged two shillings sixpence per 
hundred — rates really lower, dollar for dollar, than is charg- 
ed by the railroad or steamboats at the present time. Of course 
all travel and carriage on water was by sailing vessels, steam- 
boats having been first used upon the Hudson in 1807, while 
they did not make their appearance in our waters until 181.7, 
when the steamer "Surprise" first came up St. Michaels river, 
commanded by Captain Jonathan Spencer. 

Captain Samuel Thomas, who commanded the schooner "Betsy," 
in 1791 had accommodations for ladies, such as all the packets 
of the time were provided with. Passenger fare was placed at 
seven shillings and sixpence, or just one dollar, if the traveler 
found his own provisions, or if he was found, the charge was 
one shilling ten pence half penny, or twenty-five cents per 
meal. Of course there were packets long before any of those 
that have been mentioned. 

The manufacturing interests of Talbot have been always limit- 
ed. Except in one line of business, nothing more has ever been 
attempted than to supply the local wants of certain articles of 
prime necessity. Upon every plantation domestic manufacture 
of certain fabrics for clothing and household purposes, was car- 
ried on from the very beginning. The whir of the spinning 
wheel, and the banging of the hand -loom were heard all over 
the county for many years in her history, and up to the time, 
within the recollection of some now living, when the employ- 
ment, of machinery in large factories, superceded the home 
made clothes with the finer products of the power looms. It was 
the policy of the mother country to discourage manufacturing 
industries in the colonies, and consequently nothing was made 



EARLY INDUSTRIES 251 

in America, but the commonest and most necessary articles. 
But the general assembly of the Province offered bounties for the 
encouragement of this branch of social economy, and there are 
many records in the clerk's office of awards which were made 
after a competitive examination of home-made fabrics. It is a 
curious fact that the Quakers refused to accept the country's pay 
for making cloth, and they made this a matter of conscience 
and discipline. 

After our independence was achieved, a great impulse was 
given to this branch of industry, and our country in some small 
measure shared in the impulse. Still our manufactures were of a 
rude description, and, with the single exception just now to be 
mentioned, were confined to articles, that with difficulty could 
be brought from a distance, or such as required small capital, 
little skill, and simple machinery for their fabrication. That 
branch of manufacturing which was of first importance, which 
from our necessities dated of course from a very early period in 
our country's history, was ship building. At one time, and that 
time within the dates to which these articles are limited, there 
were ship yards upon every deep creek within our limits. 

On the first of May, 1792, Matthias Bordley advertises as being 
for sale, a vessel, then upon the stocks, upon St. Michaels river, 
and ready to be launched. Another advertisement in the same 
paper calls for a master ship-wright capable of superintending 
the building of a vessel of about eighty tons. Other intimations 
of the active prosecution of ship building might be given but it 
is not necessary. The Harrisons, the Haddaways and the 
Spencers, at or near St. Michaels had ship yards, at which large 
sea going vessels were constructed. St. Michaels indeed seems to 
have been a centre for this industrial interest. 

The fine white oak and pine timber of the stiff lands of the 
bay side, favored naval construction, and the early division of 
the landed estates in that region diminished the slave popu- 
lation and attracted or retained a population, a very consider- 
able proportion of whom were intelligent ship-wrighte. The 
toWn of St. Michaels itself owes its origin, after the parish 
church from which it derives it name, to a settlement of ship 
builders. 

After ship-building the manufacturing interest next to im«- 
portance in Talbot was tanking. Leather is an article of the 



252 LAND OF LEftENDARY LORE 

first importance, and in its preparation no expensive appa- 
ratus is required, nor large capital. It may be made in one 
place as well as another, where hides and bark can be obtained. 
Both were to be had within our county , As a consequence we 
find that there were tan yards at a very early day in many lo- 
cations. Thus Samuel Stevens advertises for sale his tan yard 
near Easton in 1792, and Corse & Atkinson were conducting a 
yard for the business of tanning and currying within half a mile 
of the same town in 1793. This tan yard probably gave name 
to the bridge just below Easton on the road to Oxford. 
Joseph Martin, in 1804 carried on the business of tanning at 
Trappe. There was also a tannery at Hole in -the Wall. At a 
meeting of the tanners and curriers at Easton and its vicinity 
on the 27th of August 1794, to establish rules and regulations 
to govern them in their business, William Eose, Israel Corse, 
William Atkinson, Christopher Mce and James Biehardson were 
present, and signed their names to an agreement respecting the 
prices for tanning hides. It would appear from this agreement 
that it was common for the planters to furnish the hides, and 
pay for their conversion into leather. This leather was subse- 
quently manufactured upon the farms into shoes for the house 
hold, the whites as well as the blacks. The custom of employ- 
ing a shoemaker to make the shoes for the family from leather 
furnished by the head of the family, continued down to a late 
date. There is now no tan yard within the county. 

The manufacturing interest next in importance in the county 
was hatting. The earliest advertisement of any one following 
this calling in Talbot was that of John Martin Needles, who in 
the Herald of September 13th. 1791, gave public notice that he 
had taken the shop formerly occupied by Daniel Carnon, on 
Washington street, Easton, opposite Troth's tavern, and was 
prepared with proper materials and acquaintance with his bus- 
iness to accomodate his patrons. The advertisement of me- 
chanics in this trade frequently and continually appear after 
this date, but it is unnecessary to refer to any of them. This 
branch of mechanical industry is no longer pursued. Our hat- 
ters now are only sellers of hats manufactured elsewhere. The 
last hat that was ever made in Easton and Talbot, (except the 
Coarse straw hats platted and sewed by the negroes) was made 



EARLY INDUSTRIES 253 

by the hands of Stephen P. Layton, for Thomas Beaston, in the 
year 1844. 

The two following advertisements are introduced, the one as 
evincing an attempt to introduce a branch of business to which 
our county seems to have some adaptation ; the other for its 
curious interest to antiquarians. It is not necessary to say to a 
citizen of Talbot that now we buy all our pottery from the city, 
that our dentists extract all our teeth, and that our barbers 
draw no other blood than with their dull razors. 

''■Eastern Shore Earthenware Manufactory. The subscriber begs 
leave to inform the public that he has commenced the pottery 
business in East on, near the head of Washington street, where 
he intends keeping a constant supply of all kinds of Earthen- 
ware, equal (if not superior) to any in the state. Our terms are 
equally low as those of Baltimore. He has burnt one kiln, which 
he will dispose of wholesale or retail. County store keepers 
will find it much to their advantage to purchase of him, as they 
will avoid the expense of freight and risk of breakage. Samuel 
Sharpless, Easton, Maryland, tenth of eleventh month, 1803." 

The following advertisement of April 15th. 1794, is curious 
as evincing the survival of the old custom of allowing barbers 
to perform some of the operations of minor surgery. "Jacob 
Alborn. Hair dresser, Bleeder and Tooth -drawer, respectfully 
informs his customers that he carries on his business in the 
house where Mr. Wiekersharn formerly lived. &c. By their most 
obedient and humble servant, J. Alborn, A true Republican.'" 
The assertion of his political sentiments to us of this day, is 
rather equivocal. It is probable the barber was a Federalist, 
although the opposite party bore the name of Bepublican. 

It would be useless to go through the whole list of mechani- 
cal trades, such as blacksmithing, silversmithing, carpentering, 
tailoring, saddle and harness making, shoe making, cabinet and 
carriage making. Each was represented. John Fonerden was 
a blacksmith in 1792, William Skinner a silversmith 1790, Cor- 
nelius West, the builder of the court house, was a carpenter in 
1793 and before, James Ewing was a tailor and habit maker in 
1795, Samuel Stevens, a saddler in 1798, Samuel Sherwood was 
a shoe maker, Henry Bowdle a cabnet maker, Henry Elliott, 
a coach maker, all in 1794. From the same source we obtain a 
knowledge of the lawyers, doctors, clergymen and teachers. But 



254 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

there is no longer space for details of this kind. Sufficient has 
been -said to indicate the condition of our industrial interests 
during the period when the Maryland Herald was printed. 



CHAPTEB XXXVI. 




TALBOT COUNTY OF TODAY. 

AVIXC carried the reader through the 
early days arid scenes of Talbot county, re- 
lated its romances and legends, told of its 
^r^«BB**f^ noted sons and daughters, and in fact all 
that pertains to this land of promise, it is 
but fitting to conclude this compilation with 
a description of the Talbot of today. Locat- 
ed in the centre of the peninsula, known as 
the "Eastern Shore of Maryland" almost 
surrounded by two great arms — estuaries — of the Chesapeake 
bay and the bay itself, is Talbot county. Pierced in every part 
by navigable waters that abound with fish, oysters, crabs, ter- 
rapin and wild fowl in their season. It has water fronts on the 
Chesapeake bay, Choptank, Tred Avon, Miles and Wye rivers, 
which furnish transportation facilities to every farm, and make 
a landing near every estate, for sailing crafts — there being no 
farm more than four and a half miles from navigable water. 
The land is high and slightly rolling, gently sloping towards 
the bay. Xature has provided for this section one of the best 
systems of drainage in the world ; the several rivers and their 
tributaries pervade every part and perform the same functions 
here that hundreds of thousands of dollars spent in tilling has 
not done in other localities. 

The natural fertility of the soil is of the most productive kind 
— it produces bountifully the staple products, wheat, corn, oats 
and hay, and is adapted to the cultivation of vegetables, fruits 
and berries. The land is susceptible to improvement, is easily 
worked and yields immediate results when properly cultivated. 
The climate is luxuriant and healthful, being in latitude 
38° and 39° X., and longitude 1° E., from Washington, the 
national capitol, and 76° W. from Greenwich, with a mean" an- 
nual temperature of 55° and 60° ; on the same isothermal line 
as many of the favorite health and pleasure resorts, in Italy and 
France, with additional advantages derived on account of the 



256 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




TALBOT COUNTY OF TODAY 257 

close proximity to the Gulf stream, which, flows within ninety 
miles of this place, and of the Atlantic ocean which dashes its 
mighty billows on the sand capped shores only fifty miles away. 
These climatic advantages render this particular locality com- 
paratively free from pulmonary diseases, and contagious dis- 
eases are rare in this vicinity. Such is a general outline of 
Talbot county, Maryland. 

The county has an area of two hundred and eighty- five square 
miles. The population, according to the census of 1890, is 
nineteen thousand, seven hundred and thirty-six ; twelve thou- 
sand, two hundred and forty-eight, are white and seven thousand, 
four hundred and eighty-eight are colored. Most of the latter 
class are farm hands and servants, never having shown any in- 
clination to learn trades or professions, but being content in 
those occupations for which they are best adapted. 

The county's business is conducted on a cash basis, and is 
most satisfactorily administered by a board of commissioners 
composed of three members, who are elected every four years. 
Nearly every Christian denomination is represented by a con- 
gregation with handsome edifices in which to worship. 

Public highways are kept in excellent condition the year 
around, and being aided by natural drainage the roads are in- 
expensive and easily kept in repair. Many of the roads are 
laid with oyster shells, which pulverizing under the wheels of 
vehicles and the hoofs of horses, form a bed of unsurpassed 
smoothness and solidity. These roads pass through charming 
scenery at the heads of ravines, inlets and bays. The road lead- 
ing from Easton to Tilghman's Island is thirty miles in length, 
and has no rise of more than twelve feet in height. Each side 
of this beautiful drive is dotted with houses, villages and towns 
within close proximity. 

Excellent roads and beautiful drives are incentives for lovers 
of the equine species to own good horses, and in this particular 
industry, the raising of good horses, Talbot county is fast be- 
coming a strong competitor with Lexington, Kentucky, many 
thousand dollars being invested in blooded stock, and the pro- 
geny of some of the most famous horses in the country are 
stabled here. Cattle, sheep and swine, thrive in this locality, 
indeed considerable money is invested in the higher grades of 
cattle and sheep, much attention is paid to raising of these animals. 



258 LAND OP LEGENDARY LOBE 

Factories are much Deeded here, though the county is uot en- 
tirely void of these enterprises ; it has many flouring mills, for 
the manufacture of the highest grade of flour made from wheat 
raised in the surrounding country. As a matter of fact, the 
Eastern Shore wheat commands higher prices than any shipped 
to the Baltimore market ; several canning establishments are in 
operation, packing tomatoes, vegetables and peaches. Oyster 
canneries are established at the watering towns, and furnish 
employment for hundreds of men. Brick yards utilize the clay 
that abounds in nearly every section a few feet below the surface. 

Three distinct lines of railroad pass through the county, 
furnishing easy and quick communication with New York, 
Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. Telegraphic and 
mail facilities are convenient, while steamboats and sailing 
crafts play upon every river affording excellent water transpor- 
tation . 

Unlike most comparatively level countries, the climate of 
Talbot county is most beneficial for the health of mankind. With 
its salubrious breezes, comparatively even temperature and 
freedom from the great storms and intense heat and cold of 
other sections, it becomes as an earthly paradise to less favored 
portions of the country. While on the parallel of the Ohio 
river, the temperature is more like that of Western Tennessee, 
but not subject to that dread curse, "yellow fever." The 
mercury in the Fahrenheit thermometer rarely ever falls to 
zero in the winter, and seldom reaches ninety-five above zero in 
the hottest weather of summer. And at no time in summer, 
even the hottest, can the observer fail to see a breeze stirring 
the leaves of the trees, fresh from the ocean or bay. Another 
advantage is that the nights are cool, thus giving opportunity 
for refreshing sleep and rest. Snow storms are, as a usual thing, 
very light, and seldom does the snow lie more than a day or 
two. High winds never prevail, and such a thing as a cyclone 
is unknown to this section. Bains are well distributed through 
the season, and seldom is there anything like a drought. 

The climate of this section has justly been compared to that 
of the most popular health resorts of France and Italy in 
Europe, and is always admired and praised by those who have 
had the pleasure of enjoying its many beneficial advantages. 
Acclimation is easy, and very few would perceive the change 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 



259 




TRIPPE'S CREEK, P. B. SPRING'S ESTATE IN THE DISTANCE. 




CADETS AT WORK IN SHIP YARD MARYLAND NAUTICAL ACADEMY. 



260 L,AND OF LK&ENDARY LOBE 

so far as ill effects are concerned, while many who have come 
here suffering from constitutional disease have been benefited 
at once. Salubrious, temperate and free from terrible storms and 
with refreshing breezes in summer and mild winters, this cli- 
mate is unsurpassed, and it is believed unsurpassable anywhere 
on this continent. 

The schools of Talbot county are par excellent and have been 
often looked upon as criterions by other counties of Maryland, 
and by other states in the Union. The examiner, Prof. Alex- 
ander Chaplain, has been connected with the schools of the 
county for more than forty years, and has been holding the 
office of Examiner for more than thirty years, and it is to his in- 
defatigable energy and advanced ideas that the schools of the 
county are what they are. The school buildings are modern 
and comfortable, heated and ventilated upon scientific princi- 
ples and number fifty-one white schools and nineteen colored 
schools. This includes the Easton High and Manual Training 
School to which pupils are admitted from all sections of the 
county without extra charge, and also the high schools of St. 
Michaels, Trappe, Cordova and Oxford. Seventy-one white 
theachers preside over 2,875 white pupils, and twenty-four col- 
ored teachers have under their charge 1, 729 colored pupils who, 
grade for grade, have the same uniform instruction that white 
children have, including free books. 

A colored Manual Traning and Industrial school is being- 
started, and manu-mental instruction is being included in the 
curriculum throughout the county. 

The salaries to teachers aggregated in 1897-98 128,000 but 
will go considerably beyond that figure in the succeeding year. 
One unique feature connected with the public schools and which 
is not to be seen at the present time outside of this county, is 
the savings bank system by which each pupil becomes a de- 
positor of savings with the teacher, and whose account is care- 
fully kept by the cashier of the bank, the treasurer of the school 
funds, who pays interest to the pupil, thus encouraging thrift 
and economy. The schools are under the supervision of a board 
composed of three members. At present these are M. B. Nichols, 
President; Dr. P. A. Dodson, and John F. Mullikin associates. 

THE END. 



BIOGRAPHICAL. 



ADAMS.— The Eight Eev. William Forbes Adams, D. D., D. 
C. L., Bishop of Easton, the Cathedral town of the Eastern 
Shore, is a man who stands high in the Episcopate of America, 
whose leaders are men of mark. Bishop Adams comes of fine 
old Irish family. His partem al ancestor settled in Ireland 
some little time after 1669. He fought under William of Orange 
at the battle of the Boyne. His maternal ancestors are Scotch — 
and indeed his grandmother npon the father's side was 
also Scotch. Bishop Adams was born January 2nd, 1833 
in Enniskillen, but his father, a man of means, came to America 
in 1841, when the subject of this sketch was in his eighth year, 
and settled in Kentucky. In Kentucky, the middle youth of 
William Forbes Adams was passed, and having been educated 
for a professional career, he was prepared for Yale college, but 
prevented by business reverses befalling his father, from attend- 
ing, he at once went to work, entering for a while, upon a mer- 
cantile career, which being distasteful to him, he completed 
his classical course under a private tutor, began the study of 
law,- and after three years was admitted to the bar in the state 
of Mississippi. 

A particular friend of Mr. Adams was Bev. George W. Sill of 
Pass Christian, Miss. ; through his influence he was led to 
feel that for him there was a still higher aim in life, 
and his thoughts were turned toward the ministry. Yield- 
ing to the new-born purpose to become a clergyman of 
the Episcopal Church, Mr. Adams moved to Clarksville, 
Tenn., entered upon the study to fit him for his new call- 
ing, with heart and soul in his work, and became a candidate 
for Holy Orders, under Bishop Otey, in 1857. After complet- 
ing his studies, he returned to Mississippi, and on St. John the 
Evangelist's Day, 1K59, was made a Deacon in the Church of St. 



* [The character sketches which follow are not indended as an exhaustive list ot per- 
sons who are alone worthy a place in this book. The compilation is made from such 
data or personal contact which could He obtained. A general notice was given In pub- 
lic print for several weeks for persons to send sketches of themselves or others, and the 
author as well as publisher wishes it distinctly understood that no lines were drawn in 
the selection of names. They fully recognize the list could be increased many fold and 
at the same time thank all who have assisted in giviDg them what is herein published 
—for to that extent the book will be made more andmoie valuable as time advances.] 



262 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Andrew, in Jackson, Miss., then under the charge of the Eev. 
William Cruse Crane, a man of revered memory, and so well and 
favorably known upon the Eastern Shore of Maryland, whose 
many friends still honor his memory and recall him with affec- 
tionate regard. Mr. Adams was ordained a Priest by the Bt. 
Eev. William Mercer Green, D. D., Bishop of Mississippi, than 
whom no more saintly man ever lived, and whose whole life in 
the Episcopate was a benediction ; his memory will long live in 
the hearts of Mississippians independent of creed or calling. 

In 1860, Mr. Adams was given charge of St. Paul's, Wood- 
ville, Miss., and the dream of years had been realized. He was 
in charge there during the civil war, and within the sound of 
the guns of Port Hudson during the long and desperate struggle 
of fifty- two days, During the war, the Eev. Mr. Adams was 
elected to the chaplaincy of a Mississippi regiment but the 
Colonel of the regiment being one of his parishoners, and whose 
family were also, objected to his leaving, and prevented noti- 
fication of it. His services were rendered to our sick and 
wounded in the hospitals as far as his time and ability permitted. 
Called to a wider field, he went to New Orleans as rector of St. 
Peter's ; in five months he was called to St. Paul's in the same 
city and was pastor of that church when elected to the Episcopal 
office ; in 1874 his consecration followed, by Bishops Green, 
Beckwith and J, P. B. Wilmer in January 17th , 1875. The 
degree of D. C. L. was conferred upon him by the University 
of the South, in recognition of his worth. 

Sent to the territory comprising New Mexico and Arizona, Bish- 
op Adams, whose health was already impaired by his self-sacri- 
ficing services during the yellow fever epidemic in Shreveport, 
La., broke down when exposed to the long and severe journeys 
he had to undergo in his new field, and compelled his resigna- 
tion, after heroic efforts to discharge his arduous duties proved 
of no avail. In 1877 the House of Bishops, feeling that his life 
would be the sacrifice, relieved him of his charge, and after re- 
cuperating his health, he resumed pastoral work, becoming rec- 
tor of the Church of the Holy Trinity in Vicksburg, Miss. 

He was in 1887 still in charge of the Church of the Holy Trin- 
ity, when he was elected to the Diocese of Easton, the duties of 
which he entered upon in 1887, and a position he has since held 
with acceptance and great success, for his whole life is in his 



BIOGRAPHICAL 263 

work, and the Eastern Shore is fortunate in having jnst such a 
man to fill the high position he holds. 

Bishop Adams is an unassuming man, gentle in demeanor, ever 
courteous, is not one to believe that to be a good christian one's 
face must be cast in a mould which a smile would shatter, but is 
full of cheery stories, amusing anecdotes and is a good raconteur. 
He is liberal in his views, most tolerant of the views of others, a 
good speaker, energetic, quick in action and possesses great abil- 
ity in his calling, while he is an ardent reader of almost every 
class of literature. In 1858 Bishop Adams married his cousin, 
Miss McCallen, the daughter of the Rev. William McCallen, an 
Episcopal clergyman, and an A. M. of Trinity College, Dublin. 

ADKINS. — William Hughlett Adkins, a prominent Talbot 
lawyer, was born on the family homestead near Easton in 1862, 
his father being Dr. I. L. Adkins, a distinguished United States 
Army surgeon and after his resignation a physician of this county. 
The Adkins home is a fine mansion situated upon the Tred 
Avon river and is surrounded by several hundreds of acres in 
the highest state of cultivation. William Hughlett Ad- 
kins was educated in early life under private tutors and later 
graduated with honors at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, 
receiving the degree of A. B. He studied law at the University 
of Maryland Law School, received his degree of B. L. in 1883, 
and after practicing his profession for awhile in Baltimore, came 
to Talbot at the death of his father to look after the large estates 
here. Mr. Adkins, in addition to having a large practice, is in- 
terested in a number of enterprises in Easton, where he ranks 
high in his profession and holds important positions, being a 
director and counsel of the Easton National Bank, director and 
counsel for Water Works Company, Ice Company and Hotel 
Avon Company, also attorney for the B. C. & A. Railway Com- 
pany, and W. P. B. and L. Association, and other corporation!. 
In 1891 Mr. Adkins married Miss Mary Hand Dawson, daugh- 
ter of one of Easton's influential business men. 

Rev Franklin B. Adkins, brother to the above named, was 
born near Easton, September 26th 1856, received a liberal edu- 
cation and graduated at Shenandoah Valley Acdemy, Win- 
chester, Virginia, after which he studied Latin, Greek, Hebrew 
and Literature at the Johns Hopkin's University. In 1882 he 
graduated at the Berkley Divinity School and was ordered 



264 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Deacon, by Bishop Lay, at Christ Church, Eastou, and later was 
ordained priest in the Church of God, by the same Prelate. Mr. 
Adkins has filled many prominent positions and holds high 
rank in many benevolent and christian orders. He married the 
eldest daughter of Bt. Bev. Wm, F. Adams. As an index to the 
christian character of the man, the following quotation is taken 
from a private letter of his to a friend : "As an humble instru- 
ment in the hands of my Eternal Maker, with an absolute and 
adoring faith in the fatherhood of God and an enduring hope and 
love for the brotherhood of man, in the unity and fellowship of 
Christ Jesus, my Lord, I am in humble submission striving 
to labour to build up that Temple not made with hands — 
eternal in the heavens." 

BALDWIN.— The Bev. Leonidas Bradley Baldwin, Bector of 
Christ Church, St. Peter's Parish, Easton, is one who is becom- 
ing thoroughly identified with Talbot. A man of scholarly at- 
tainments, pleasing address and social disposition, he is popular 
in and out of his church and interested in the affairs of the peo- 
ple. He can look back over a long line of ancestry who dwelt 
in Connecticut, and the subject of this sketch was born in New 
Haven in 1834, his being the seventh generation of Baldwins 
that claimed that city as their birthplace. The Bev. Mr. Bald- 
win received his education at Trinity College, and studied theol- 
ogy at the Berkely Divinity School, being ordained Deacon in 
1863 and Priest in 1864, St. Mark's at New Britain, Conn., being 
his first charge, then St. Mark's, Boston, next moving to Keene, 
N. H. , after which he sought a more congenial climate and was 
called to Christ Church, Easton. In 1863 Mr. Baldwin married 
Miss Annie M. Willard, of Middletown, Conn. Mr.. Baldwin is 
a logical speaker in the pulpit, devoted to his ministerial duties 
and works hard in the interest of the church and those connected 
with it. 

BABBEB. — The Honorable Isaac Ambrose Barber, member of 
Congress, was born in Salem, New Jersey, on January 26th, 
1852, and after a good education in the excellent schools of the 
society of Friends of which sect he is a member, as have been 
his people for generations before him, he selected the profession 
of medicine as the one seemingly best suited to his taste. He 
chose the Homeopathic school, and a hard and devoted student, 



BIOGRAPHICAL 265 

graduated when just of age, and finally selected Easton as the 
best place for him to locate, a growing town among a refined, 
enlightened and progressive people. In a short while, by his en- 
ergy Dr. Barber built a practice which increased as time went 
on, when circumstances led him into otoer business he became 
largely interested in milling. Living in the midst of an unsur- 
passed wheat country, the milling business was profitable, and 
the work so much to his taste that he gave up medicine after 
years of practice, and devoted his attention wholly to this busi- 
ness. Dr. Barber was sent to the Maryland legislature, and 
filled other important political offices. Elected President of the 
Farmers and Merchants National Bank of Easton, Dr. Barber 
was recognized for his full worth in the business enterprises of 
town and county. He married Miss Nellie Collison, of Easton, 
a grand-daughter of the late Judge Perry W. Stewart, a promi- 
nent citizen of Talbot. Dr. Barber is a calm, forcible speaker, 
having clear cut reasons for what he says, and saying it tersely 
and well. He uses few metaphors, deals in no useless words, is 
not flowery in diction, but lucid in argument and convincing. 
Chosen by his party as a Congressional candidate, he was 
elected to a seat in the House, which he has filled to the satis- 
faction of his constituents. 

BARTLETT.— Hon. John C. Bartlett is Chief Judge of the 
Orphans' Court and holds a high place in the esteem of his fel- 
low-citizens. He was born on the "Bloomfield" estate, 1839, 
and comes from honored ancestry on both his paternal and ma- 
ternal side. Judge Bartlett represents the fifth generation of his 
name in Talbot. Educated at Milton academy, he returned to 
Talbot and entered into the milling business in connection with 
farming, and in both made a success. In 1895, he was elected 
Chief Judge of the Orphans' Court, having previously been an 
associate on the bench. Judge Bartlett belongs to the Society of 
Friends, and is a man of sterling worth, commanding the esteem 
of all who know him. 

BENSON. — Captain James Benson, who was also a physician, 
was living at Benson's Enlargement, near St. Michaels, about 
1671. He had four sons and four daughters. A son, Perry, 
was the father of James, who was the father of General Perry 
Benson. Samuel Perry Benson rose to the grade of Brigadier 



266 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

General, commissioned in 1807, and in 1814 was commissioned 
as Major General. Nicholas Benson, another son of the settler, 
had a son also named Perry who died in 1814. This Perry had 
a son named James, who had five sons and three daughters. 
One of his sons, Perry, was the father of Gustavus Keihl Ben- 
son ; another son of this James Benson was Charles, who was 
the father of the late James Benson. Mr. O. H. Benson is in 
business in St. Michaels. 

BATEMAN. — Wilfred Bateman is a representative man of 
Maryland, rather than to say of his town and county, for he is 
known all over the state, and is universally popular. Mr. Bate- 
man belongs to an old and respected Maryland family, is a man 
of genial nature, a bon vivant. liberal, progressive and socially 
and politically a favorite. Born in 1859, his father being Col. 
Henry E. Bateman of Easton, Wilfred Bateman was reared in 
Talbot and while in his teens, became a school teacher, later at- 
tending a military school in Virginia. Returning to Easton, Mr. 
Bateman studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1881, and has 
made a success in his profession. He was appointed Clerk of the 
Talbot Court, is a Mason, an Odd Fellow, an officer of the Ches- 
apeake Bay Yacht Club, is attorney for several large Easton en- 
terprises, and his friends may be written down as legion. 

CAULK. — The Caulk family of Talbot county goes back to 
Lord Baltimore's time, so that James H. Caulk has a long line 
of Maryland ancestry. A farmer by occupation, Mr. Caulk 
lives in Bay Hundred District, and has attained prosperity. 
Born in 1844, Mr. Caulk has passed his life in agricultural pur- 
suits, at the same time interesting himself in all that would ad- 
vance his neighborhood and county. 

CARRINGTON. — Mr. Charles S. Carrington is a young law- 
yer of Easton whose ability places him in the front ranks of the 
Talbot county bar, noted for its legal lights. He dates his an- 
cestry, maternal and paternal, back to 1632 on one side, and 
1680 on the other, but in Massachusetts and Connecticut, not in 
Maryland. One of his grandfathers was a major in the Revolu- 
tionary army, and another an officer in the war of 1812. Mr. 
Carrington's father, D. N. Carrington, was born in Georgia in 
1836, and the family moved to Talbot in 1874, and purchasing 



BIOGRAPHICAL 267 

the fine old home of "Oaklands," on the Peach Blossom, and one 
of the ancient mansions with a history, having been built about 
1750, and npon the site of an old homestead that still dates back 
a hundred years. 

Charles S. Carrington was born in 1860 ; was educated in 
Brooklyn and Columbia College ; studied law in Easton, and 
admitted to the bar, entered later into partnership with Hou. 
Charles H. Gibson, then Senator from Maryland. The Carring- 
ton family are Daniel X., an officer on a steamer in the South 
American trade, Charles S., Walter, Robert and Mabel. 

CHAMBERLAINE.— Dr. J. E. M. Chamberlaine may be 
called a "gentleman of the old school." Dignified yet genial, 
courtly in manner, he bears his age well, inheriting a splendid 
physique and iron constitution from a long line of ancestry, 
noted for their physical make up and strength of character. Dr. 
Chamberlaine is the fifth of his race in America, his first ances- 
tor in this county having come here prior to the year 1700 and 
become largely interested in shipping and mercantile pursuits, 
settling at Oxford until latter he established himself, in a fine 
home on the "Plaindealing," a part of the mansion still re- 
maining and already referred to in a previous chapter of this 
book. For generations before, from the year 1000, the Chain - 
berlaiaes had been prominent in English life, having two homes 
there, the main seat being "Saughall" in Cheshire. In Talbot, 
the Chamberlaines also had two homesteads "Plaindealing 
Manor," and "Bonfield," both imposing mansions built on a 
hill thrown up by slave labor, and now in possession of Dr. 
Chamberlaine. In 1700 the first of the Chamberlaine family in 
America had built on what is now Trippe Creek, a fine fleet 
vessel, paying for her in so much tobacco from the plantation of 
"Plaindealing." The vessel was named the "Elizabeth" and 
had twenty-four guns and a crew of ninety-six men, for those 
were the days when the black flag floated on every sea. The 
"Elizabeth" made many successful voyages from Oxford to 
London and other foreign ports. Dr. Chamberlaine was born 
at his father's homestead at Clora's Point, Talbot, in 1826, was 
educated at Cambridge, studied medicine and graduated in the 
Maryland University at Baltimore, when he came to Easton and 
entered upon the practice of his profession in which he made a 



268 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

distinguished record. He has been twice married, his first wife 
having been Miss Elizabeth D. Hayward, and his present wife 
was Miss B. Catherine Earle, a grand- daughter of Judge Thomas 
I. Bullitt, a distinguished man of his day. The Easton home of 
Dr. Ohamberlaine is a substantial brick mansion built in the 
last century, and its walls are adorned with ancient family por- 
traits, while many valuable souvenirs of the long ago, are also 
to be found there. Dr. Ohamberlaine retired from practice 
some years ago. From a village he has seen Easton grow into 
the handsome place it is today. 

CHIPLEY. — Col. Charles A. Chipley of the historic old man- 
sion "The Anchorage," has become identified with Talbot and 
its people from having made his home in their midst. Looking 
about him for a home in which to spend the late years of his 
life, Col. Chipley wisely selected Talbot county, combining as it 
did refined society, beautiful land and water scenery. When 
Col. Chipley made up his mind, after a most extensive search 
for the right kind of a home, he acted promptly and purchased 
"The Anchorage on the Miles," and at once set to work to im- 
prove it, and make it more comfortable in every way, though 
still leaving the old style of architecture undisturbed. The re- 
sult was that at a large outlay, he' has one of the handsomest 
homes in Maryland ; and with his family about him, greatly en- 
joys his summer days of rest in his beautiful retreat, while his 
hospitality is unbounded. A member of the Chesapeake Bay 
Yacht Club, Colonel Chipley was the donor of an elegant racing- 
prize, known as the "Anchorage Cup" and takes great interest 
in all yachting matters, as he does in all else to the advance- 
ment and pleasure of Talbot. Colonel Chipley is the General' 
Freight Agent of the Pennsylvania Bailroad Company, with 
headquarters in Philadelphia, and his energy, and determined- 
to- get-there manner of taking hold of his work, earned him his 
high position. A man of fine executive ability and a good man- 
ager, he has done much to add to the success of the great road 
he is connected with, and to which he devotes so much of his 
indomitable energy. A Virginian by birth, born in 1836 in 
Alexandria, he attended the public schools, then learned the 
machinist's trade, and in 1854, entered the navy, a training 
that he says greatly benefited him for the life he entered upon. 



BIOGRAPHICAL 269 

In 1869 lie entered the employ of the Baltimore and Ohio Bail- 
road Company, and 1881 accepted the general agency of the 
Union Line of the Bennsylvania Railroad, and thus went onward 
to his present position. A man of generous fortune, Colonel 
Chipley is charitable and generous hearted, and is glad to add 
to the happiness of those about him. In 1859 he married 
Miss De Camp, of Washington, D. C, and they have three 
children living, Mrs. W. A. Sproull, of Ridley Park, Pa., 
Charles Chipley, Jr., and Miss Sarah M. Chipley. The great 
grandfather of Colonel Chipley came from England and settled 
in Maryland, so he can claim descent from Marylanders as well 
Virginians. 

CHAPLAIN. — Professor Alexander Chaplain is a gentleman 
known to every child in Talbot county who is old enough to 
have been cut loose from his mother's apron-strings to learn his 
ABC. as they are taught in the public schools. For one hold- 
ing the position he does, Professor Chaplain is not unfavorably 
known, for he is popular with all classes of scholars, the boys as 
well as the girls. He is a man who has served longer in the 
harness as School Examiner than any other person in the State 
who holds a like responsible position, for he can count thirty 
years of hard labor in the scholastic field. Thorough in his 
work, knowing what his duties are and doing them fearlessly, 
versed in the old and new methods, keeping up with the times in 
all branches taught in the schools, from the old style to the occult 
sciences, Professor Chaplain is a man of scholarly attainments 
and progressiveness, and quick to seize upon the very best there 
is in modern instruction. 

COBURN. — Captain Thomas H. Coburn, the commander 
of Hick's Post G. A. R., No. 21, was born in Baltimore in 
1830 though his family came over with Lord Baltimore and 
took up a patent of land in Talbot. The tract was known as 
" King's Grant"; consisted of 1,700 acres, and the village of 
ofTrappenow occupies a part of it. Educated in Baltimore, 
Mr. Coburn moved to Cambridge, Dorchester county, and begun 
business for himself, proving successul in his enterprises, but 
enlisted in the Union Army, September 1861, in the first Eastern 
Shore regiment and was made first Lieutenant, Company A. 



270 LAND OF LKGENDARY'LORE 

Later lie was made aide to General H. H. Goldsborough, and 
after serving in that capacity for some time, was placed in com- 
mand of the drafted camp at Baston. Having been promoted, 
he was ordered to Cambridge as deputy provest marshall, and 
so served until the close of the war. Removing to Easton after 
the war, he entered into business. He has been Junior and 
Senior Vice Commander of G. A. R. for Maryland, for three 
years was Deputy United States Marshal, and for thirteen years 
has been Commander of Hick's Post Easton, and is now a Justice 
of the Peace, and member of fraternal societies. 

DOUGLASS. — Dr. Eugene Douglass, of Talbot county is a 
credit to his profession, and a short time ago removed from his 
home in Oxford to a wider field of usefulness in Baltimore, 
where he is now building up a large practice. Dr. Douglass 
has the advantage of being a surgeon and pharmacist as well as 
a physician, a great aid indeed to one who practices medicine. 
He is another of Talbot's adopted sons, born in Preston in 
1860, and is a descendant of an old and respected family of that 
county. Educated at the Preston Academy, he graduated at 
the Maryland College of Pharmacy, studied medicine mean- 
while and received his degree from Maryland University School 
of Medicine. He was assistant resident physician at the Uni- 
versity Hospital, and then went to Oxford and entered upon the 
practice of medicine, soon making his influence felt. He is de- 
voted to his practice, and a man who makes many friends, as a 
practitioner and socially. 

DIXON.— Mr. Robert B. Dixon's fore-fathers settled in Talbot 
county in 1670, and he dwells today upon land just taken up by 
them, though the vast tract then taken up by the Dixons has been 
sold off in part, Near the present home of Mr. Dixon, "North 
Bend," the first Friend's meeting house in Talbot county was 
built, as has been referred to in the chapter on the ancient 
churches of this county. It was known as "Betty's Cove Meeting 
House," and unmarked graves of the dead of two centuries ago 
alone designate the spot. The Dixons of that day, and the 
Bartletts as well as many other names of the families of Friends 
in Talbot, were prominent then in the agricultural and social 
life. Coming down through the genesis of the Dixons, we find 
that each one who bore the name was noted for thrift, perma- 



BIOGRAPHICAL 271 

nance, steadfast faith in their religion and honesty of purpose. 
Mr. Dixon is the son of James Dixon and Mary Ann Bartlett, 
and was born on the family homestead in Talbot county, Aug- 
ust 22d, 1834, and is an energetic, well preserved man of sixty- 
five today. His father was a thorough man of affairs and the 
leading business man of his time in Easton, universally respect- 
ed and beloved. He was prominent in all progressive business 
enterprises in Talbot county, held high positions of trust, was 
hospitable, generous, liberal in his views and so educated his 
sons that they imbibed his ideas of business and felt the full 
imprint of his thorough training, a training which has brought 
each one of his sons William T , Isaac and Eobert Bartlett 
Dixon into the front rank of the most successful of Maryland's 
business men, for no men stand higher in the public esteem than 
they, and Talbot county is proud of such sons. Educated in 
Easton and at the Westtown Boarding School, in Pennsylvania, 
Mr. Dixon then entered upon the life of a farmer upon the home 
where he now resides, but in 1859 he also connected himself 
with mercantile affairs, engaging in the coal and lumber busi- 
ness. Later he entered into other business enterprises in Eas- 
ton, and today is President of the Easton National Bank, of 
the Mckerson Fertilizer Company, Treasurer of the Easton Ice 
Company, the Easton Water Company, and of the Building and 
Loan Association, and is a director in numerous other copora- 
tions. Mr. Dixon married 1861, Miss Amos, daughter of Wil- 
liam Lee Amos, of Harford county, and they have two sons, 
James and William, and four daughters, the first named son, 
James, being connected with his father in business in Easton. 
Mr. Dixon has always. been prominent in Talbot's enterprises, 
and his influence has been felt in politics as well, though he is 
not partisan/ yet a staunch Republican. He has represented 
his county in the House of Delegates, and believing that the 
office should seek the man was the candidate of his party for 
other honored positions, being named as the successor of Hon. 
Charles H. Gibson for United States Senator, but made no per- 
sonal effort to secure the honor. A man of pleasing address, 
courteous to all, Mr. Dixon pursues the even tenor of his way 
socially and publicly, as one of Talbot's most prominent influ- 
ential and honored citizens. 



272 LAND OF LEftENDARY LORE 

DODSON. — Thomas Dodson was born near St. Michaels in 
the early part of the eighteenth century. He had a son who 
was the father of Captain William Dodson, born in 1786, who 
commanded one of the barges under Commodore Barney dar- 
ing the war of 1812. He also was in command of the fort at 
Parrot's Point, when the British attacked the town of St. 
Michaels. Captain William Dodson married Amelia Brown, 
and they had a son, named William, another son Captain 
Robert A. Dodson. He left quite a large and very prominent 
family. Dr. Robert A. Dodson served through the civil war as 
surgeon. Dr. C. Marion Dodson moved to Baltimore. Hon. 
H. Clay Dodson is now State Senator. Amelia Dodson married 
Rev. D. C. Ridgaway, a very prominent Methodist minister. 
Hester Dodson married Mr. J. W. Grandy and moved to Nor- 
folk, Virginia. Hon. Henry Clay Dodson, a resident of St. 
Michaels, is a leader of the Republican party in his locality, 
w r hile he has been elected to manj r offices of honor and trust. A 
member of the General Assembly for three terms, he is now a 
State Senator. He was born in 1840, in the old home that has 
belonged to their family for generations. Mr. Dodson attended 
school in St. Michaels, and when quite young began a business 
career in a drug store in Easton, later he entered into journal- 
ism, was post-master of St. Michaels and then entered the 
Assembly. 

EVEREST. — Mr. Everest came of Scotch and England parent- 
age, descending, on his maternal side from the well-known 
Crawford family of Scotland and from Sir John Cole on his 
father's side. He was born October 22d, 1810, before the break- 
ing out of the last war in England, and is a Mary lander by 
birth. Educated in the local schools where he lived, he begun 
to study for the ministry of the Methodist Protestant Church, 
and was admitted to the Conference in 1833. In those days the 
position of clergyman was by no means a sinecure office, for 
souls were to be ministered to, conversions made, sermons 
preached, the dead to be buried, marriages performed and all 
in parishes far apart, so that it kept a man constantly on the go 
by night and day. Ministers were few in numbers then, charges 
far apart, the roads often such only in name, and a saddle horse 
was frequently the only means of communication, while the pay 



BIOGRAPHICAL 273 

was a trifle, so that the clergyman's lot was not a happy one 
save in the thought of duty nobly done. Such was Mr. Everest's 
early life work, and if ever man had the gratifying thought that 
his life work had been nobly done, he certainly has. He occu- 
pied many of the most important charges, spared not himself in 
his labors, and was honored by being made President of the 
Conference in 1855, an exalted position he held for some 
years with great credit to himself, for always conservative, 
gentle, courteous, yet a good reader of human nature, he plan- 
ned well and his appointments were good and just. In 1834 
Mr. Everest married Mrs. Charlotte Worthington Hammond, 
who had one son, a son who rose to distinction and held many 
offices of trust and importance — I refer to the late Hon. Ormond 
Hamond, of Talbot. After a service of over thirty years in the 
ministry, Mr. Everest purchased a home on Miles river and set- 
tled there, moving later after the death of his wife, to "Soli- 
tude," the beautiful home of his stepson, Judge Hammond, of 
whose family he has since been an honored member. Tall, erect, 
active, bearing his eighty-six years well indeed, Mr. Everest is 
as courtly as a Chesterfield, and his whole life has been that of 
a true christian gentleman. [Deceased since this was written.] 

EARLE — The subject of this sketch, Dr. John Charles Earle, 
is a man full of years and honors, one who can look back over 
a life well spent. Dr. Earle's ancestry dates back a couple of 
centuries in Maryland, and many of the name have won dis- 
tinction. Dr. Earle was born in 1824, his father being Hon. 
Richard Tilghman Earle, Chief Judge of the second judicial u 
district of Maryland. His birth place was "Medijwd" the c }>jJJ^J 
family home in Queen Anne county. His earlier years, as a 
student, were passed in the Centreville academy and private 
schools, and he graduated at the Newark, Delaware College in 
1839. Taking up the study of medicine from a love of the pro- 
fession, he studied under Dr. James Bordley, in Centerville, 
and graduated at the University of Maryland in 1845, when he 
was appointed resident physician at what is now the University 
Hospital. Then he returned to Centerville and entered into a 
partnership with his old preceptor, Dr. Bordley, and for many 
years practiced in Queen Anne's county, where he was known 
far and wide as a skilled physician. Removing to Talbot, he 



274 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

expected to retire from active practice, but found it was impos- 
sible for be was at once sought after and for over thirty years, 
has been a prominent and energetic physician in the county. Hav- 
ing for half a century been a devoted practitioner, he has now 
retired to rest from his arduous labors, devoting his leisure to 
agriculture, a pursuit of which he has ever been fond, and lives 
at his fine old home in the suburbs of Easton. In 1848 Dr. 
Earle married Miss Clara E. Goldsborough, daughter of the late 
Colonel Nicholas Goldsborough, of "Otwell," on the Avon. 

GEIFFITH. — John S. Griffith is one of Easton's energetic 
and up-to-date business men, and one who believes in being in 
touch with the times. He is a liberal conservative and has 
worked his way to his present position by his own energy 
and determination. His family came from Wales, several 
generations back. John S. Griffith was born in 1852, in Dela- 
ware, a[ little state that has turned out a great many big men. 
He was educated in Easton, became a clerk, and, from that 
start, begun the success he has made of himself as a business 
man. 

GOLDSBOEOUGH.— Colonel F. Carroll Goldsborough is of 
ancient lineage, and his name is well known in Maryland as one 
that dates from the first settlement of the shores of the Chesa- 
peake. A typical Maryland country gentleman, Colonel Golds- 
borough is a planter, dwelling at his beautiful home of "Ellen- 
borough" on the Peachblossom, a branch of Avon river, where 
he lives in the real old time southern style. Colonel Goldsbor- 
ough can look back over the many generations of honored an- 
cestry, and claim descent from men distinguished in Maryland 
history. He was born on the family estate, "Llandaff," near 
Easton, and brought up on the homeplaee nnder a private tutor, 
and was educated at the University of Virginia, graduating in 
1869. Colonel Goldsborough has traveled in Europe, and over 
much of this country, and has devoted a great deal of his time 
to the improvement of his large estate and the raising of blood- 
ed cattle and sheep. He has held important positions in the 
county and state, and received his title from serving on the 
staff of Governor Hamilton. In 1885, Colonel Goldsborough 
married his cousin, Miss Mary Hill Goldsborough. 



BIOGRAPHICAL 275 

GIBSON.— Hon. Charles Hopper Gibson of "Katcliffe 
Manor," Talbot eounty, is a citizen whose fame has t gone~'far 
beyond, the confines of his state, which he has most ably and ac- 
ceptably represented in the House and United States Senate. 
Senator Gibson, as he is still called, traces his ancestry far 
back in the history of Maryland, and several of his name served 
in t he Revolution and the war of 1812. Born in Queen Anne's 
county, he was educated at the Centreville Academy, Archer 
School and Washington College. He studied law and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1864, commencing practice in Easton with 
Colonel Samuel Hambleton, and at once began to make his 
mark as a lawyer. He was appointed in 1869 Commissioner in 
Chancery, and auditor in 1870, but resigned to accept appoint- 
ment of State's Attorney for Talbot, an unexpired term, but was 
elected for four years to the same office, and re-elected in 1875, 
but declined a fourth term. He was elected to the forty-ninth, 
fiftieth and fifty- first Congress, serving with marked credit to 
himself and the good of his party — the Democratic. Mr. Gibson 
was appointed to the United States Senate to fill unexpired 
term of Senatar E. F. Wilson, and was elected for the full term 
ending March 1897. Senator Gibson is a man of commanding 
and striking appearance, and one who has not been spoiled by 
the high honors he has won. 

HAMBLETON.— Samuel S". Hambleton, then living at St. 
Michaels, was presented with a medal by Congress for his ser- 
vices in the battle with Comodore Perry on Lake Erie, and 
named his farm "Perry Cabin," in honor of the victory. "Don't 
give up the ship'' is said to have been originated by him. One 
of the earliest settlers in the vicinity of St. Michaels was William 
Hambleton who emigrated here from Scotland about 1659. His 
residence was at Martingham near St. Michaels. In 1663, he 
was High Sheriff of Talbot county, the second of that title. In 
1868, he was appointed one of the Worshipful Justices of the 
Peace and Commissioner of Talbot. The Colonel Samuel N". 
and John S. Hambleton were descendants of William Hamble- 
ton. 

HADDAWAY. — Captain W. H. Haddaway has been both a 
soldier and a sailor, but is now a leading business man in Ox- 
ford. Born in 1814 on the family homestead, he was a farmer 



376 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

until the breaking out of the civil war, when he entered the 
Union army and served with credit to himself, until his honor- 
able discharge, when he returned to Talbot and became a sailor. 
Until 1879 he followed the water, becoming Captain of a vessel, 
and then entered upon a commercial life in Oxford, where he is 
now a prosperous business man. 

HOLDER.— Major Hiram L. Holden, of "Gilnock Hall" on 
the Peachblossom , is a new resident of Talbot county. His home, 
though built in the old colonial mansion style of architecture, 
is a new one, for he said he did not think it just right to erect 
a cottage class of building upon an historical site. Born in 
Steuben county, New York, long enough ago to enter the army 
at the breaking out of the civil war, he entered the service for 
which he had had some training, having gone to Kansas after 
receiving a thorough education. There he lived through the 
troublesome time that agitated that country in what was known 
as the "Free State War. At the breaking out of the civil war, 
Mr. Holden was on a visit to Williamsport, Pa., and from there 
enlisted in the eleventh Pennsylvania regiment and went with it 
to the front. Serving until the time of his enlistment expired, 
Major Holden returned to Williamsport, and soon after married 
Miss Armstrong, a daughter of Judge Armstrong, of the 
Supreme Court of the State and whose brother, Judge Arm- 
strong, of Philadelphia, is one of Pennsylvania's prominent 
citizens. Removing to Colorado, Major Holden entered 
into the banking business, and was largely interested 
in mining. Later his business interests called him to 
Chicago, where he spent some years. Major Holden has 
passed much time abroad, traveling in foreign lands, and it is 
to the credit of Talbot county that when he came here on a visit 
some years ago, its beautiful scenery, restful and general sur- 
roundings determined him to make this his home. The result 
of his determination is his handsome home of "Gilnoek Hall" 
beautifully situated upon an eminence of the Peachblossom, and 
commanding extensive views of the surrounding country, and 
as well, a refined and hospitable home. 

HARDCASTLE.— General E. L. F. Hardcastle was born 1824, 
his father being a merchant of Denton, Maryland, where he 
was much esteemed. The Hardcastles are of English descent, 



BIOGRAPHICAL 277 

settling in Maryland in 1748. The eldest son of the one who 
founded the family in America was Thomas, the builder of 
"Castle Hall," the handsome old homestead in Caroline county. 
Educated at home, the subject of this memoir was sent to West 
Point in 1842, graduating in 1846 with distiction. He was 
commissioned Second Lieutenant in the corps of Topographical 
Engineers, United States Army. In his class at West Point 
were Generals McClellan, Foster, Beno, Couch, Stonewall Jack- 
son, Sturgis, Stoneman, Oakes, Maney, Palmer, Wilcox, Jones, 
Gardiner, Maxey and Pickett, truly a galaxy of distinguished 
officers to come from one class. The Mexican war breaking out, 
Lieutenant Hardcastle was ordered to the staff of General Win- 
field Scott, and participated with conspicuous gallantry at Yera 
Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Perote, Puebla, Churubusco, Molina del 
Bey, and City of Mexico, being thrice promoted by brevet for 
services in the field. After the war the duty assigned to Captain 
Hardcastle was to survey the surroundings of the City of Mexico 
at the request of the Mexican government, which later made 
acknowledgments of his able services rendered. Later he was 
ordered to astronomical duty on the Mexican Boundry Commis- 
sion, and then went to Washington to complete maps and reports 
of his surveys in Mexico. 1854 he was appointed Secretary of 
the light house board, and he had under his supervision the 
preparations of plans for the new light house among which was 
Minot's Ledge light on the coast of Mass. Besigning his com- 
mission in the army, having married Miss Sarah D. Hughlett, 
daughter of Colonel William Hughlett of Talbot county, Captain 
Hardcastle entered upon the life of a planter. He took no part 
in the civil war, yet made himself useful in many ways to the 
people of Talbot. In 1867 he became President of the Maryland 
and Delaware Bailroad, and he brought it out of its financial 
troubles and placed it upon a firm foundation. He became also 
a director in the Easton National Bank ; was elected to the 
House of Delegates ; was the author of the Militia law, and was 
appointed 1871 General of State troops. Again elected to the 
Legislature he made himself a most useful member, and was 
the author of the elevator bill. He is a Democrat, a man of 
much influence, and has two large estates in Talbot, while his 
home is in Easton. 



278 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Hardcastle. — Dr. Edward M. Hardcastle comes from the 
adjoining county of Caroline, a county that has sent many a 
good man forth to win fame and fortune. Dr. Hardcastle was 
born in the homestead of ''Castle Hall" in 1819, but today is 
a remarkably well preserved man for his years, and still keeps 
up his practice. He received his education at the schools in Car- 
oline and was sent to Lancaster, Pa., to finish off, after which he 
came to Talbot to teach school in 1841, and at the same time read 
medicine. He attended the Jefferson College of Philadelphia, 
and graduated as an M. D. in 1844, when he settled in Trappe, 
Talbot county, to practice his profession. After a long and 
successful practice in Trappe, Dr. Hardcastle removed to Easton 
where he now resides. He was for long years a Vestryman of 
the old White Marsh Church, has been School Commissioner 
sixteen years and is a man skilled in his profession, and one who 
is esteemed by all who know him, for his life has commanded 
the respected of his fellow citizens. 

Hardcastle. — Edward M. Hardcastle, Jr., was born Decem- 
ber 10th, 1867. at Trappe, Talbot county, attended the public 
schools of the county until 1882, when he went to St. John's 
College. After completing the entire college course, graduated 
as valedictorian in 1886 with the degree of Bachelor of Arts. 
The following year was sperjt as assistant teacher in the Easton 
High School. Deciding upon a medical education, he attended 
lectures at the University of Maryland, was resident student of 
Maryland University Hospital, graduated fourth in a class of 
112, and was awarded, after competitive examination, the 
Tiffany surgical prize. Post graduate courses were taken at 
hospitals in Philadelphia under private instructions. He Set- 
tled in Abington, Va., in 1891, and was for a time acting-in- 
structor of French and German at Maitha Washington College 
for girls. He married Miss Nannie Lloyd Meiere, grand- 
daughter of Admiral Franklin Buchanan, the Confederate hero. 
Mrs. Hardcastle died in 1893, after which Dr Hardcastle came 
to Easton and accepted a position as assistant teacher in the 
high school, of which he soon after became principal, in which 
arduous and responsible chair, he won golden opinions for him- 
self. In addition to his severe labors, Dr. Hardcastle entered up- 
on the study of divinity and has been ordained deacon in the Epis- 



BIOGRAPHICAL 279 

copal Church. He is a man of fine mind, a hard student, has 
read much and traveled extensively, while his courteous and 
genial manners with all make him universally popular. In 1897 
Dr. Hardcastle resigned as principal of the Easton Highland 
Mannual Training School, and after a year's work at the Nau- 
tical Academy, accepted a position on the staff of Eev. Dr. W. 
E. Huntington, of Grace Church Parish, New York City. 

HOOPER. — Leander R. Hooper is an example of what busi- 
ness intelligence and push will accomplish. Born in Baltimore 
city, June, 28, 1857, he moved to Denton, Caroline county, where 
he spent his boyhood. In 1877 he came to Easton at the request 
of Thompson & Kersey, who at that time were the largest re- 
tail dry goods ^merchants in this section. Mr. Hooper was 
soon promoted to the desk of book keeper in this firm, and filled 
the requirements of the position until the firm went out of busi- 
ness, nine years afterwards. Mr. Hooper then associated himself 
with Hubbard & Brother, manufacturers of fertilizers, and re- 
mained with that concern for eleven years, when he opened an 
office for the sale of fertilizers, with several branches, such as 
brokerage in canned goods, insurance, etc. He is now recogniz- 
ed as one of the substantial business men of the town, and his 
advice is frequently called for by fraternal orders and in the 
religious circles with which he is associated. In December, 1886 
Mr. Hooper married Miss S. Gertrude n'athell, of Easton. They 
have one child, a daughter of ten years. 

HOLLYD AY.— Henry Hollyday was born June 29th, 1836. His 
father, Henry Hollyday, of "Readbourn," son of James and 
Susan Hollyday, (a Miss Tilghman,) married Miss A. M. Holly- 
day, daughter of Henry and Nancy Hollyday, of ''Ratcliffe," 
Talbot county. After spending a few years at a country school 
near "Readbourn," Henry Hollyday was sent to "Ratcliffe" to 
attend the old Easton academy in 1817. In 1848 he went to St. 
James College, Maryland. In 1852 he entered upon a mercan- 
tile life. Going to Philadelphia first in the drug business, and 
then the importing — silk and fancy dry goods — remainingin ittill 
1861 Being southern in all his tastes, habits, and connections, 
he found it best to leave the "Quaker City," so accordingly on 
the morning of April 20th, 1861, the day after the memorable 
riot in Baltimore, he left for his Maryland home, and entered 



280 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

the store of McKenney & Co., Centerville, Maryland, and in 
March 1862 became one of the firm. In September 1862, having 
fully determined not to join the Union forces or furnish ja sub- 
stitute, he went south enlisting in Company "A," Captain 
W. H. Murray, Second Baltimore Infantry, C. S. A., Colonel 
Herbert, commanding. It is as well to state that a draft was 
made in Maryland about the time Mr. Hollyday left, and ten 
days after joining the .Confederate ranks, he was informed that 
he had been (drafted into the Union army. The record of the 
Second Maryland Battallion of infantry cannot be given here, 
suffice to say, it saw very active and severe duty. The first mus- 
ter roll of Company "A" called one hundred and thirty -five 
men, and only thirteen of this number surrendered at Appo- 
matox. Mr. Hollyday participated in the battles known as the 
second Winchester, Gettysburg, second Cold Harbor, Hatchers 
Run and others, beside numerous skirmishes. Under terms of 
parole given at Appomatox, he returned to his Maryland home, 
"Readbourn," coming back on the second day of April, 1865, 
exactly four years from the day he left Philadelphia. A few 
months rest at home, a rest necessary to enable him to regain 
full health, found him again actively at work. His father dying 
in September 1865, his brother Richard and himself took charge 
of the estate, In 1869 he moved to "Ratcliffe," Talbot county, 
to manage the farm and the fall of that year again entered mer- 
cantile life. In 1869 he married Miss Sally H. Hughlett, 
daughter of Colonel Thomas Hughlett. In 1871, he gave up 
mercantile life for farming. He moved to "St. Aubin" near 
Easton, where he has since lived and reared his large family. 
He held the position of secretary to the Working-men's Per- 
manent Building and Loan Association of Talbot county, when 
it was first organized, but resigned in March 1875 to enter the 
Easton National Bank of Maryland, filling, at various times, 
most of the positions in that bank, being at this date assistant 
cashier. The five children by Mr. Hollyday \s first wife are : 
Henry, now Deputy Clerk ol Talbot county Court, Hughlett, 
in business in New York City, Fannie Harrison, art instruct- 
ress in Baltimore city public schools, Susan, who lives at home, 
and Sally who died in infancy. Mr. Hollyday 7 s second wife 
was Miss M. M. Chilton, of Baltimore county, Maryland. The 



BIOGRAPHICAL 281 

children of this marriage are Ann Maxwell, who died at nine 
years of age. Margaretta Eobins, Frank and Eosalie. 

HKIGUSTS. — Martin M. Higgins was born in Talbot county in 
1844. His father was Josiah Higgins, of Trappe. He received 
his education in the public schools under the tuition of various 
teachers, and among his teachers was the Hon. Jonathan Willis, 
later Congressmen from Delaware, and, for a time, he attended 
the private school of Wiliam H. Brown, now an eminent law- 
yer in Philadelphia. At the age of sixteen, Mr. Higgins en- 
tered the store of the late Montgomery Lloyd, and later moved 
to Oxford, but in 1863, he moved to Easton and entered busi- 
ness, but gave it up to take the position of enrollment clerk 
under Captain Andrew Stafford, then Provost Marshal for the 
district. After leaving his office he immediately re-entered 
business. In 1867 he accepted a position as special assistant to 
the Clerk of the County Commissioners and continued there 
until he embarked in mercantile life on his own account, and 
made a most successful business man. In 1887 he moved into 
his present office and became an Insurance and General Busi- 
ness Agent. He was one of those active iu the formation of 
Talbot County Fair Association, being one|of the incorporators, 
and was elected secrtary and treasurer. In 1885 he was nominat- 
ed on the Eepublican ticket for the House of Delegates, but was 
defeated as was the entire Eepublican ticket. In 1887. he was 
again nominated, and elected. In 1891 Mr. Higgins was a candi- 
date for Clerk of the Circuit Court but was defeated by Colonel 
Thomas Hughlett. He was a member and chairman of the 
Eepublican State Central Committee for Talbot county, but de- 
clined a re-election in 1894. He represented his congressional 
district as a delegate to the National Eepublican Convention, 
at Minneapolis in 1892. He received the unanimous Eepubli- 
can vote and was chosen Chief Clerk of the House of Delegates 
at the session of 1896. He served for years as secretary of 
Miller Lodge, No 18, I. O. O. F., the richest lodge in Maryland, 
and for over fourteen years as treasurer of the same body. He 
is treasurer of Tred Avon Lodge, Knights of Honor, and other 
orders, and also manager of the Easton j Town Hall Company. 
He was married in 1867 but lost his wife in 1896. Mr. Higgins 
was chosen secretary of the present Senate without any sugges- 



282 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

tion or effort on his part. Mr. Higgins is decidedly a progres- 
sive man and wields much influence in both business affairs and 
politics. He has been identified with all the improvements 
and matters of public interest and welfare in Easton and the 
county. 

JENKINS. — I refer to the well-known drug store under the 
firm name of Dawson & Jenkins, but with Messrs. Edward and 
Thomas H. Jenkins as proprietors. Just think of the sales of 
drugs, to say nothing of castor oil, sold in that store in the 
present century, going away back to the days when calomel, 
jalap, quinine, rhubarb and herbs were the cures for almost 
every ill that flesh is heir to, or was in those days, for now it 
is fashionable to have many diseases then unknown. The pres- 
ent Jenkins generation can look far beyond their ancient store 
to their ancestry, going back to centuries in good old American 
stock. On their maternal side they are descended from a promi- 
nent family of the Society of Friends, Miss Elizabeth Dawson 
who married Dr. Edward Jenkins. There are interesting his- 
torical incidents also connected with their family of the Eevo- 
lutionary war and 1812, already referred to in tnese pages. The 
family settled in Talbot county before 1700, and the first firm 
in the old building spoken of was Dawson & Thomas, latter 
changing to Dawson & Brother, and then to Dawson & Jenkins, 
the present name of the firm. Both Edward and Thos. H. Jenkins 
are well and favorably known in Talbot county, where they 
were born, and Edward now lives in the old home in Easton. 
They were educated in Easton, and may be said to have been 
brought up in the drug business, while they have been hardstu- 
ents in pharmacy. The Jenkins family of today consists of 
Edward, Thomas H., Mrs. Valk, of Baltimore, Mrs. Edith D. 
Gillingham, and Miss Mary Jenkins. In 1892, Mr. Thomas H. 
Jenkins married Miss Elizabeth Causey, of Delaware, and they 
have two children, Elizabeth and Frances Hunter. 

JOHNSON. — Dr. Julius A. Johnson is a prominent physician, 
and citizen of Talbot county living at his handsome country 
home on the banks of the Miles river. Dr. Johnson was born 
in Easton July 15th, 1849, his father being Julius A. Johnson, 
of Talbot county. Educated in the public schools of Talbot 
county, and at Baltimore, Dr. Johnson studied medicine at the 



BIOGRAPHICAL 283 

the University of Maryland in 1871, entering at once upon the 
practice of his profession in his native town In 1880 he mar- 
ried Miss Elizabeth T. Lowndes, youngest daughter of the late 
Commodore Charles Lowndes, United States Navy. 

KEMP. — John H. C. Kemp, of distinguished ancestry, is a 
man who has followed the sea as well as the life of an agricul- 
turalist. He was born at the family homestead in Bay Hundred 
in 1844, and with the beautiful Chesapeake before him, he long- 
ed to become a sailor, so when still in his teens, shipped on a 
coasting vessel to work his way up to the quarter deck. In 
time his ambitious hopes were realized, and he became master of 
a ship ; but soon after, gave up the life of a sailor to become a 
farmer, in which work he has also been successful. He lives in 
Trappe district, has a handsome home, is lavish in his hospital- 
ity and is regarded as one of the leading men of his community. 

LLOYD. — Colonel Edward Lloyd of "Wye House" was born 
in 1825, and is a direct descendant of Edward Lloyd, the 
first of his name who came to this country in 1640. He inherit- 
ed the large estate of many thousand acres he now dwells upon 
and his home is typical of the old time mansions built in those 
early days by the wealthy landholders. His family has furnish- 
ed a large number of sons, who have held distinguished offices in 
the state. Colonel Lloyd was educated under the care of the 
celebrated Rev. Dr. Muhlenberg, at College Point, Long Island, 
entered Princeton and graduated 1844 ; returning home he was 
elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, and though just 
out of his teens, made a fine record. He entered the army in the 
war with Mexico, and was on the staff of General Tench Tilgh- 
man ; promoted to capatin, then to major. After the war was 
over he returned to House of Delegates. He owned large tracts 
of land and many slaves both in Maryland and Mississippi, and 
was a man of wealth, but at the breaking out of the civil war, 
siding with the south, he lost the greater part of his large 
fortune. A democrat, he was elected in 1873 to the State Sen- 
ate, and on his second term, became its president, no one voting 
against him. Colonel Lloyd has been an extensive traveller, is 
a man of superior learning, and a splendid type of a gentleman 
of the old school. He married in D51, a lady of great beauty 
and accomplishments, Miss Mary Howard, the grand daughter 



284 

of General John Eager Howard, and upon her maternal side, 
the grand -daughter of Francis Scott Key, the author of the 
"Star Spangled Banner." Their home is one of the greatest at- 
tractions of Talbot, and noted for the hospitality of its host and 
hostess, and their children. 

LOWNDES. — Dr. Charles Lowndes, of the fine estate of 
"Sunnyside," on Miles river, followed in the career of his father, 
the Commodore, in part, as he entered the United States Navy. 
Born in 1832 in Talbot, he was educated partly at the academy 
at Oxford, then St. Timothy's Hall near Baltimore, St. John's 
College, Annapolis, and finished by graduating with honors at 
Princeton University in 1853, having just become of age. De- 
termined upon a professional career, he begun the study of med- 
icine in Baltimore, attended the University of Maryland and 
later Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Appointed to 
the Navy as assistant surgeon, Dr. Lowndes went on voyages to 
foreign lands and saw much of the world and its people, but re- 
signed in 1861 at the breaking out of the war, and began the 
practice of medicine in Baltimore. Dr. Lowndes married Miss 
Catherine M. Tilghman, of Talbot, and resides at his home of 
"Sunnyside," which is indeed a veritable haven of rest and 
is near the former family country seat, "The Anchorage." A 
younger brother of Dr. Lowndes is Lloyd Lowndes, who is now 
occupying the position of Secretary of the Board of Fisheries at 
Annapolis, to which he was appointed by his distinguished kins- 
man, Governor Lloyd Lowndes of Maryland. 

LOWE. — Colonel James Marion Lowe was born in 1837, near 
MeDanieltown, educated in the schools of the town, and at the 
military academy at Oxford. He taught in the schools of Bay 
Hundred, and for many years, was devoted to this occupation 
and to farming. His father died in 1863, leaving a large estate 
comprising a thousand acres of land, twenty slaves, many ves- 
sels and other valuable property, the care and management of 
which devolved upon thisson. In 1875, he married Dorcas Eliza- 
beth, eldest daughter of W. Seoquick McDaniel and Anna 
(Wrightson) McDaniel. Losing their only child, Marion, the 
parents traveled for some years and then settled in St. Michaels, 
where he has taken an active part in politics, as a democrat. 
Was twice school commissioner, twice clerk to the Maryland 



BIOGRAPHICAL 285 

Senate, twice a member of the Legislature, and was the first 
Colonel named on the staff of Governor Hamilton. The Colonel's 
father, William Webb Lowe was born in 1804. at Lowe farm, 
on Tred Avon. In 1829, he married Mary Wrightson, and lo- 
cated on his farm near McDanieltown, where he conducted 
many large enterprises with success. In his day, he was one of 
the most popular and influential men in the county. As a demo- 
crat he was twice elected to the legislature, and once sheriff, 
afterward declining further honors. His ancestor, John Henry 
Lowe, related to Colonel Vincent Lowe, whose sister Jane, as 
the widow ofi Hon. Henry Sewall, married Lord Baltimore, 
came from Derbyshire, England, in 1700, married Mary Bart- 
lett, daughter of Thomas and Mary Bartlett, of Yorkshire, 
England, and settled on his farm on the Chesapeake Bay. The 
Lowes still own the, homestead, with its quaint old dwelling 
thereon. In 1701, John Lowe, Eobert Clark and William 
Worrilow, founded the Quaker meeting house at McDanieltown. 
Colonel Lowe's great-grand parents, Ensign James Lowe and 
Colonel William Webb Haddaway served in the war of 1776. 
The earliest ancestor of Mrs. Lowe was Laughlin McDaniel, 
who married Mary Lowe, and died in 1732. John Mc- 
Daniel, March 30th, 1777, married Mary Morsell, daughter of 
James and Elizabeth Seoquick Morsell, of Calvert county, 
Maryland. Her sister Dorcas Seoquick, who married Joshua 
Johnson, was the mother of Governor Thomas Johnson and 
Louisa Catherine Johnson, a very beautiful and accomplished 
lady, who on July 26th 1797, in London married John Quincy 
Adams, afterward President of the United States. 

MAYEARD — Henry Maynard was baptized at a spring when 
he was six or seven years old, by Robert Straw bridge at Harris 
Creek, Frederick county, in 1762. It is claimed that here Mr. 
Strawbridge, two years later, built the log chapel said to have 
been the first Methodist meeting house in Maryland, and even 
in America. A son of Henry Maynard, Capt. Foster Maynard, 
one of the old defenders of Fort McHenry in 1814, purchased a 
farm near St. Michaels and moved there. His daughter Eliza- 
beth married Rev. T. J. Thompson, D. D. They had ten chil- 
dren, among whom are Rev. Henry S. Thompson of the Wil- 
mington Conference, and Mrs. Lillie Gracey, wife of Samuel 



286 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Gracey, United States Consul to Torchon, China. Mrs. John 
W. Dean, of St. Michaels, is a grand -daughter of Capt. Foster 
Maynard. Her father was the late Stephen Denny, who died in 
1875, aged ninety-two. Mr. John W. Dean is now the trustee 
of the M. E. Church, justice of the peace, town commissioner 
and holds other positions of trust. 

MERRICK.— Mr. William S. Merrick is one of Trappe's innu- 
ential men, and he has made a success in agricultural pursuits. 
For a number of years he was journal clerk of the House of Del- 
egates, and later of the Maryland Senate. Born in 1851, Mr. 
Merrick passed his boyhood upon a farm near Trappe, was edu- 
cated in the public schools, and became a teacher, at the same 
time devoting himself to the study of law. Later he entered 
upon a mercantile life, opening a drug store in Trappe, and has 
been a most successful business man. 

MULLIKUST. — Col. Mullikin is a man with a double record — 
military and political. If in New York, his name would imply 
that he was a late comer from the Emerald Isle, but here in Tal- 
bot the Mullikins have been a power in the land for over two 
centuries, for Ihe Colonel, owns the farm his first American an- 
cestor received under Lord Baltimore in 1662. 

James Clayland Mullikin was born fifty- seven years ago in 
Talbot, was educated in Baltimore ; liked studying so well he 
became a teacher, but heard the call to arms at the breaking out 
of the civil war and recruited the only company Talbot raised 
for the Northern army, yet modestly made other men the senior 
officers over him. As a soldier Lieut. Mullikin made a gallant 
record for himself and was promoted and appointed to the staff. 
Here he rapidly advanced in promotion for distinguished ser- 
vices on the field, until he attained the rank of lieutenant-colo- 
nel and was placed in command of the Eleventh Maryland regi- 
ment, serving in numerous battles and conspicuously at Gettys- 
burg, so aptly named the "high tide of the Confederacy." 
The title of "Colonel" was fought for and won, and not be- 
stowed upon him ''by courtesy." After the war Colonel Mulli- 
kin returned to Talbot and once more became a teacher, at the 
same time studying law under General Joseph B. Seth. Enter- 
ing upon his new profession of law, he quickly gained a lucra- 
tive practice, An ardent Republican, he took a leading position 



BIOGRAPHICAL 287 

in his party, a leadership he has held through all the ups and 
downs of political life in Maryland. He is an untiring worker, 
yet unselfish in his demands and willing to yield to others for 
the party's good. He has been candidate for Clerk of the Cir- 
cuit Court Presidential elector, candidate for Comptroller, 
and candiatde for the House of Representatives, has been chair- 
man of the Republican State Committee, and his name was twice 
brought before the Legislature for United States Senator. He 
was appointed postmaster of Easton by President Harrison and 
made a good record as such. In the late war Colonel Mullikin 
was appointed in the Commissary Department with the rank of 
Major <and has jurisdiction over the department of Havana. In 
1865 he married Miss Emily E. Mullikin, of Trappe, and they 
have one son, Clayland Mullikin, who, following in the footsteps 
of his father politically, is a republican, a rising young lawyer, 
and was elected State's Attorney for Talbot, the only republican 
ever chosen to that office, and he has filled the position with 
much credit to himself and the good of the county. 

NICHOLS. — M. B. Nichols feels a just pride in having made 
the successjhe has in life through his indomitable will, pluck 
and energy. The family of Mr. Nichols came to America in 1852 
from county Mayo, Ireland, and settled in Maryland, and two 
years later, in 1851, M. B. Nichols was born. Educated in the 
public schools up to the age of fourteen, Mr. Nichols became a 
clerk, and from his entrance upon a business career began to 
prosper, being well fitted for a mercantile life. In 1876, he en- 
tered into business for himself, and his ability, perseverance and 
probity as a merchant won for him success and the respect of the 
community. Continuing to prosper, Mr. Nichols has become 
one of the leading merchants of the peninsula, and his store in 
Easton has a decidedly metropolitan appearance, while it is con- 
ducted upon the strictest business principles. Keeping up with 
the times in his purchases, seeking the best markets in which to 
buy, wholly up to date in business methods, Mr. Nichols has at- 
tained what he determined to accomplish at the outset of his life. 
In addition to his mercantile life, Mr. Nichols is also largely 
interested in farming and other enterprises, while in the affairs 
of his town, county and state, he greatly interests himself. He 
is a man of liberal views, charitable in all schemes for the good 



288 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

of the community, and is president of the Board of School Com- 
missioners for Talbot, a distinguished honor, as he differs politi- 
cally with the other commissioners. He has gained an enviable 
reputation among his fellow -citizens. In 1878 Mr. Nichols mar- 
ried Miss Kate F. Roberts, daughter of Judge W. D. Eoberts of 
the Orphans' Court, and a sister of Colonel Edward Roberts, a 
gallant Confederate soldier and now a United States Government 
officer. 

NICKERSON.— Mr. Charles C. Mckersonis a son of W. P. 
Nickerson, of Delaware. He was born in 1854. He was edu- 
cated in Oxford and moved to Easton where he has shown him- 
self to be a most progressive and representative citizen, being 
connected with many of the largest business enterprises in Tal- 
bot county. In 1892 Mr. JSTickerson established a phosphate 
factory in Easton, and incorporating it into a stock company 
has made it one of the largest enterprises of its kind in the 
state. Mr. Mckerson married in 1885 Miss Lillian R. More- 
land, of Westminster, Maryland, and owns one of the finest 
houses in Easton. 

NORRIS. — Adjutant Owen Norris, the executive officer of the 
Charles S. Winder Camp of United Confederate Veterans of 
Eastoa, was born in 1815, hence was a very young man when he 
entered the Southern army in the civil war. Mr. Norris can 
trace his ancestry in Maryland back to the earliest settlement, 
when his family came to this country and found a home in St. 
Mary's parish. The family are descended from Sir John Norris, 
Rear Admiral in the English navy, and from whom the Ameri- 
can branch trace their direct descent. Entering the Confederate 
army in 1862, in Trimble's brigade as commissary sergeant, Mr. 
Norris served to the close of the war, having seen the hardest of 
campaigning aud been engaged in many battles. He was pro- 
moted to the signal corps and was signal officer under General 
Early, while he was twice wounded, once severely at the second 
battle of Manassas and slightly at Winchester. In the war of 
1898 he served as first lieutenant of Company F, First Maryland 
regiment. 

In 1874 Mr. Norris married Miss Margaret Tilghman Owen, 
whose mother was a niece of Commodore Lowndes, one of Tal- 
bot's naval heroes. He has a handsome home, "Coverdale," on 



BIOGRAPHICAL 289 

the Miles river, and about it linger many memories of the olden 
time. 

Norms. — Col. James C. ISTorris, the proprietor of the Hotel 
Avon of Easton, is a typical southern landlord, and one who is 
as popular as he is widely known. Colonel IsTorris has had a 
great deal of experience in hotel life, and he runs his home on 
business principles. He comes of a family that has descended 
through half a dozen generations in Talbot, and the Colonel was 
born in the old homestead in 1835, received his education in the 
public schools, entered upon a mercantile life in Easton, and be- 
came proprietor of the old Brick Hotel in 1865. In 1891 he be- 
came the landlord of the Hotel Avon, and his ability and ener- 
gy, added to his genial nature, have built up for this famous 
hostlery a reputation that places it at the head of all hotels upon 
the peninsula. The Colonel was on the staff of Governor Jack- 
son, and thus gained his title. He has been twice married, his 
first wife, nee Kirby, dying in 1872, his second wife was Miss 
Helen M. Dodson, Associated with Colonel Norris at the Avon 
is his son, William K. Morris, who, in his father, has a very 
thorough, teacher of what is necessary to make a first-class hotel 
man. 

POWELL. — Judge Edward A. Powell comes of a good old 
stock of the Society of Friends, and looks back some generations 
in Talbot county ancestry. He was born in 1851, and by some 
mischance failed to bear the name Howell Powell that so many 
of his grandfathers had borne with honor before him, and a 
name that so often^appears in the old records of the Society of 
Friends in Talbot county. Judge Powell is an associate Justice 
of the Orphans Court, and has held other important offices of 
trust, while he is also both farmer and merchant, having a large 
mercantile business in Trappe. A man of sterling character, 
modest in demeanor, he is also social, hospitable and charitable 
and well deserves the esteem of his fellow citizens. 

PASCAULT. — Colonel Louis C. Pascault was the progenitor of 
the family of that name in America, he having come over with 
Lafayette and fought bravely in the war of the Eevolution. Col- 
onel Louis C. Pascault's son of the same name, was the father 
of Alexis A. Pascault, of Talbot, who was born in 1822, and 
was reared a farmer. Alexis A. was an influential citizen and 



290 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

held many important trusts. In 1848 he married his 
cousin, Miss Maria E. Goldsborough, daughter of Hon. Henry 
Goldsborough, of Talbot county and who is closely connected 
with many of the most distinguished families of the state. They 
have two sons, Alexis G. and Henry G., the former interested 
in both business and farming, the latter clerk to the Eegister of 
Wills. Alexis A. Pascault died June 22d 1898. 

POISAL. — The Eeverend William McKendree Poisal was born 
and educated in Berkeley county, West Virginia. He is the son 
of Sebastian J. Poisal, deceased, who was a brother of the late 
Rev. John Poisal, D. D. Mr. Poisal entered the ministry of the 
Methodist Protestant Church when but twenty years of age, 
joining the Maryland Conference in 1861. His first assignment 
to pastoral work was in Talbot county, and after three years, 
he was again appointed to the same charge. In that year he 
married Miss Laura V. Covey, daughter of the late Edward and 
Susan Edmonston Covey, then residing on the fine "Sherwood" 
property, skirting the beautiful Miles river. Some years latter 
Mr. Poisal retired from itinerant work and resided in St. 
Michaels, where for many years he published the St. Michael's 
Comet, making a most able editor, while he also was identified 
with other business interests in the county. In 1888 Mr. Poisal 
resumed active relations with his Conference and has since been 
pastor, in the order named, of St. Michaels, Alexandria, Vir- 
ginia, Oxford and Easton, Maryland, thus showing that most of 
his years, since reaching his majority, have been spent in Tal- 
bot county. Mr. Poisal is a well-read man. a classical scholar 
and hard student, not only of theology, but of political and 
social life, while his views on all subjects are liberal and un- 
prejudiced, for he does not allow himself to be controlled by nar- 
row confines. He is a man of courteous address, a speaker of 
force and his influence is felt far beyond the bounds of his own 
church, in fact, he does a vast deal of good without ostentation, 
is charitable without show. 

RICH. — A clergyman recently called to the Cathedral is a man 
with a record to be proud of, and who will, no doubt, make his 
mark here, as he has elsewhere. Born in Baltimore, something 
over fifty years ago, the Rev. Edward R. Rich is the son of Dr. 
Arthur Rich, Sr., a prominent physician of Cambridge and later 



BIOGRAPAICAL 291 

a practitioner in Baltimore for many years. Before he was out 
of his teens, Mr. Rich entered the Confederate army, going 
South and enlistiug in the First Maryland cavalry, a command 
that saw hard service and won great distinction fighting for the 
"Bonnie Blue Flag." Serving through the war with conspic- 
uous gall en try, Mr. Rich was twice wounded, and twice taken 
prisoner. Mr. Rich's reminiscences of the war are many and of 
very great interest, and he is a good reconteur of the scenes 
through which he passed, the life he lead as a "Man in Gray" 
in strange contrast to that he now leads as a soldier of the Cross. 
But this very life in the army taught Mr. Rich to know men as 
they are and the better fitted him for this high calling he later 
entered upon as a clergyman. When the war ended Mr Rich 
became a theological student, to enter the Episcopal ministry, 
and was first ordained in Baltimore, in St. Paul's Church, by 
the Right Reverend Bishop Whittingham. Going to the South, 
he was later ordained to the Priesthood by the Right Reverend 
Bishop Atkinson in St James' Church, Wilmington, North Car- 
olina Called to Raleigh, the Church of the Good Shepherd was 
built under the direction of Mr. Rich, who was for twelve years 
its rector. The church is now the Cathedral Church of the 
Diocese of North Carolina. For five years Mr. Rich was a mem- 
ber of the Standing Committee of the Diocese. Going to Orbi- 
sonia. Pennsylvnia, Mr. Rich was for six years rector of the 
church there, and later called to Greensboro, Maryland, he re- 
mained there for five years, resigning his latter charge to accept 
a call to the Cathedral at Easton. During the pastorship of his 
last two charges Mr. Rich built a rectory at each place, and left 
both parishes free from debt. Mr. Rich was warmly welcomed 
to Easton, not only by his church, but also by his old Confed- 
erate comrades here, for he has already been made a member of 
Charles S. Winder Camp of Confederate Veterans. A man of 
deep learning, Mr. Rich is a fine pulpit orator and forceful 
speaker, while he is genial in manner and altogether a man of 
the people. 

REISLER. — Professor Edward Reisler was born in Maryland 
in 1851. In his infancy his parents, Thomas J. and Margaret 
Reisler, removed to Frederick county, where his boyhood was 
spent. He was educated in the public schools, Liberty 



292 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Academy, and Western Maryland College, receiving from the 
last named institution the degree of Master of Arts. After 
teaching in the public schools oi Frederick and Carroll counties 
three years, he reopened the old Liberty Academy, where he 
conducted a successful school for years. In 1880 he was appoint- 
ed Principal of St. Michaels High School, in Talbot county, 
which position he held four years, but in 1884 he resigned his 
position at St. Michaels, and removed to Union Bridge, where 
he established a private school, known as the Union Bridge 
Elementary and High School. In 1886 he began the publication 
of the Carroll News, a weekly newspaper, in Union Bridge, and 
he made as good an editor as he had been a teacher, for the 
News was a very bright paper. During the publication of the 
newspaper, he was engaged almoin teaching, most of the time 
in the high school,; and for two years was a Professor in the 
Western Maryland College. In 1897, Mr. Beisler was appoint- 
ed principal of Easton High and Manual Training School, and 
subsequently removed his family to Easton. 

BEDDJE. — The parents of William Beddie came from King- 
lassie Fifeshire, Scotland, and in 1851, and settled in Talbot 
county, where the subject of this sketch was born in 1856. He 
was educated at the Trappe High School, and then became a 
teacher. Entering politics he was elected Sheriff of Talbot 
county, after which he became a farmer; was appointed Clerk 
of the Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Beddie was ap- 
pointed by the Governor a supervisor of elections in 1896 and 
1897, and is now interested in business in Easton. The oldest 
brother of Mr. Beddie entered the Confederate army, Company 
E., Second Maryland Battallian and was killed in his seven- 
teenth year at Gettysburg. Another brother is a large manu- 
facturer. 

BOBEBTS. — Captain Edward Boberts was born in Maryland 
in 1842, and was educated in Baltimore. He joined the first 
regiment at Harper's Ferry, April 1861, and was in all the en- 
gagements in which this command participated, when the First 
Maryland Begiment was disbanded after the seven days fight, 
he joined an independent Alabama command, "Kit Freeman's," 
and served until the end of the war and was paroled at Greens- 
boro, North Carolina, May 1865. He was commissioned captain 



BIOGRAPHICAL " 293 

by the state of Alabama, in November 1865, and aided the 
authorities in establishing law and order in Tuscaloosa county. 
Captain Eoberts located in Easton in 1867, and engaged' in Con- 
tracting and building, as a member of the firm of W. D. Eoberts 
& Sons. He was twice commissioned captain of the Maryland 
National Guard, was chief of Easton Fire Department ' for 
twenty-five years, and commissioner for a long term. He resign- 
ed from the guard service, to accept a position of United 7 Slates 
Inspector of Eublic Buildings. To this position he was appoint- 
ed June 1st, 1^93, by Secretary of Treasury, Hon. John G. Gar- 
lisle. Captain Eoberts married Miss Cornelia P. Gannon', of 
Talbot county, and they have three children, Lulu C, Edward 
W. and George Bichard Eoberts. A man of striking appear- 
ance, Captain Eoberts is a whole-souled gentleman, universally 
popular in Talbot county and one whose career has been ' an 
honored and brilliant one, deserving of the success he has 
won. 

SPENCEB. — James S. Spencer's family settled on the farm 
about half a mile from St. Michaels, now owned by Mr. Johh+E. 
Marshall, as early as 1670. James S. Spencer the second mar- 
ried Ann, a daughter of Dr. James Benson. He came into the 
Province prior to 1674. 

SHANNAHAN.— Mr. William E. Shannahan is another 
Marylander with Irish ancestry that have been completely lost 
u)I -in the generations of Americans from which he is descended, 
for the name of Shannahan dates far back on the records of 
Talbot, and those who hear it have reason to feel a pride in 
their family. The subject of this sketch is one of Easton's fore- 
most citizens, and a business man that is progressive in the "ex- 
treme, for his handsome establishment is the largest of its kind 
on the peninsula, in fact there are few such stores to be found 
out of the large cities. Of this prosperous and substantial firm, 
Mr. William E. Shannahan is the president. Mr. Shannahan 
is fully aware of all that Easton is capable of, and he is of the 
kind that builds up the business of a town, and does all he can 
for its general advancement. He has a handsome home in Easton 
and stands among the solid men of the town . 

STEVENS.— Dr. James A. Stevens is a Talbot countian, and 
he feels very sure that he has selected wisely and well in making 



>94 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

his home here, for he lives at Oxfoid, where he has a large aad 
lucrative practice. Born in Nova Scotia in 1852, he went as 
a young man to Halifax, and then to Boston to finish the study 
of medicine, and graduated at the Jefferson Medical College, of 
Philadelphia. Connecting himself with a hospital, Dr. Stevens 
gained much experience in surgery as well as in medicine, after 
which he removed to Florida, and begun to practice there. 
Having married in 1880, he moved some years later to Oxford, 
Talbot county. He is a member of the Maryland Medical As- 
sociation. A man of scholarly mind, of a generous nature, sym- 
pathetic in his practice, Dr. Stevens has won many friends. He 
is connected with the Masonic order of Easton, is a member of 
the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club, and enjoys his leisure among 
his books and men of liberal ideas on all important questions of 
the day. Dr. Stevens merits the regard in which he is held by 
those about him. 

STEW ABT.— Major William Eccleston Stewart, a leading 
lawyer of Easton, descended from ancestors who were among 
the first settlers of Maryland. Born in 1839, he was educated 
at Dickinson College and University of Virginia. He studied 
law and was admitted to the bar in 1860. He moved to Arkan- 
sas and became a planter, but entered the Confederate army, was 
twice captured, three times promoted, and commanded a regi- 
ment in the terrible siege of Port Hudson, where he greatly 
distinguished himself. Having lost his Arkansas property, he 
begun the practice of law in Baltimore and soon after was sent 
to the legislature. He moved to Easton in 1876, having married 
in 1872 Miss Margaret Douglass Wallack, of Washington, 
D. C. Major Stewart has been District Attorney for Talbot 
county, and is known as a fine lawyer and a telling speaker 
throughout the state. He is a democrat of "purest ray" and is 
as devoted to politics as he is to his profession. 

SEW ALL. — The Hon. Henry Sewall emigrated from England 
to St. Mary's county, Maryland, in 1660. He settled near the 
mouth of the Patuxent, on land originally the dwelling place 
of the Mattapanient Indians. He was a Privy Councillor, and 
his mansion during Lord Charles Baltimore's rule was the 
government house of the Province. His wife was Jane Lowe, 
who after his death married Lord Charles Baltimore. Bene- 



7 ' xo 

BIOGRAPHICAL 295 

/ 

diet, the son of the fifth baron was the father of Nelly, who 
married Mr. Custis. Major Nicholas Sewall was deputy Gov- 
ernor in 1689. He married Susannah, daughter of Hon. Wil- 
liam Burgess, /Who was also a deputy Governor, a Justice of the 
High Provincial Court, and Privy Councillor. Secretary creek, 
on Choptank river, was named after Secretary Sewall. A mem- 
ber of the family is Arthur Sewell, the recent nominee for Vice- 
President of the United States, for the Sewalls and Sewells are 
of the same stock. The Sewells came to Talbot in 1709, with 
the Ealle's family. Mark Sewell, of Talbot county, died in 
1724, leaving three sons and three daughters. A little later, 
Tuesday July 12th, 1757, in St. Michaels Parish records, we see 
that Clement Sewell is taxed three hundred pounds of tobacco 
for being a bachelor, and still later, January lst^ 1780, 
Mark Sewell and Basil Sewell were contributors to that church. 
In 1768 a member of the Ealle's family came on from England 
and rode from Philadelphia to Ealle Bange, near St. Michaels, 
on horseback. Eiding up to the northeast window, he stepped 
in and handed a copy of the English registry to Mr. Ealle, 
and in it he pointed out the English branches of the Ealle and 
Sewell families, and they are underscored with a pen. This 
old book is still in the possession of the family, and the under- 
scored names are Denny Ealle, of the House of Commons, and 
Sir Thomas Sewell, Knight, Privy Councillor and Master of the 
Eolls of England and also representative for Winchelsea in 1768. 
On November 2d, 1773, Mark Sewell bought from Eichard 
Mansfield the Third, the farm near St. Michaels, called "Bel- 
fast," and he, his wife and children moved there. He was in 
1777 during the Eevolutionary war a member of the Broad 
Creek Company, Thirty-eighth Battalion, and his sword is still 
in the possession of one of his descendants. His son James 
Sewell married Elizabeth Mason. He was in command of 
pickets at Ashcroft Point when the British attacked St. 
Michaels, August 10th, 1813. He fired the first shot, thus at- 
tracting the attention of the men in the fort at Parrott's Point. 
His son Jeremiah Sewell married Harriett Matilda Porter, and 
they were the parents of William E., Charles W., Thomas H., 
Mary A., Walter M., and Lewis. Thomas Henry Sewell is at 
present in the stationery and printing business in St. Michaels. 
He is president of the Ep worth League, a trustee of the Metho- 



296 



LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 




RESIDENCE OP LEANDER R. HOOPER. EASTON. 




MANSION HOUSE ON "ALLONBY" ESTATE. 



BIOGRAPHICAL 297 

dist Episcopal Church and a director of the St. Michaels Savings 
Bank. Historical articles written by him have been placed on 
file by the Maryland Historical Society, and he is one of the 
progressive and prominent citizens of the fine old town of St. 
Michaels. 

THOMPSON.— Captain Hedge Thompson has a double title, 
for he is also entitled to the rank of Commodore, as he holds 
that position in the Cheaspeake Bay Yacht Club. He was for 
years in command of the oyster navy, and is a devoted yachts- 
man, a farmer as well, owning the handsome estate of "The 
Forrest," in Longwoods, Talbot county. His estate comprises 
over seven hundred acres, the residence is an old-fashioned 
homestead where the latch string always hangs on the outside. 
Born in 1834 of English ancestry, the grandfather of Commo- 
dore Thompson was an officer in the Continental army, so he 
justly claims to be an American of a number of generations. 
After receiving his education, he entered upon a mercantile 
life ; but when he had prospered sufficiently to have a goodly 
bank account, he invested it in the home he now occupies, a 
model farm of Talbot. A genial gentleman , fond of the pleas- 
ures of life, Commodore Thompson is a man who is progressive, 
liberal and follows the golden rule about as closely as |it fc is [pos- 
sible to do, and of this all wro fully know him are aware. 

TURNER. — Hon. J. Prank Turner is a man whose energy 
and ability none will doubt, while he is also one of courage and 
indomitable will to successfully accomplish all that he under- 
takes. Mr. Turner is as well a man of ambitions, and where he 
has met with defeat he accepts it with a resignation that is most 
praiseworthy. Born in Talbot county in 1844, his father dying 
when he was an infant, while his mother, a Miss Mary Cla.rk, 
also passed away before her son had entered his teens. Work- 
ing on the farm, Mr. Turner also attended the county school 
until he was eighteen, when he entered the office of Register of 
Wills, in which he soon made his ability felt. Later he was 
appointed recorder in the office of the Clerk of Court, and thus 
entered upon a political career, he being a "dyed-in-the-wool" 
democrat. In 1867 he was made chief clerk and deputy. In 1873 
he was elected Clerk of the Court of Talbot. Mr. Turner 
has since held other important offices and made a record for 



298 LAND OF"LKeENDAEY LORE 

himself. He is a man of genial address, popular with those who 
differ with him in politics, a forceful speaker and a most able 
general in a political campaign- In 1871, Mr. Turner married 
Miss Sallie Powell Hopkins, of Talbot county. He lives 
near Easton and has a most comfortable home. 

TULL. — Hon. Levin H. Tull, of Oxford, was born in Talbot 
county, and with the waters of the Chesapeake before his gaze, 
he was not long in entering upon the life of a sailor. From sail- 
ing the Chesapeake and its tributaries as a boy and young man, 
Captain Tull entered upon the broader field of marine experi- 
ence of a "life on the ocean wave," becoming a mate on board 
of a foreign bound vessel, later, as captain, visiting many lands 
and meeting with wondrous adventures afloat and ashore. Cap- 
tain Tull 1 has known what it is to be shipwrecked, and yet he 
followed the sea until he was nearing the half century mark in 
years. Then he entered upon a successful career as a boat 
builder, and modeled and constructed the fleet buckeye yacht 
"Flossie," which has carried off the honors in many races in 
northern waters. Though not having had the advantage of a 
college education, Captain Tull is yet a man of general learning, 
a great reader and considerable of a philosopher. He lives at 
Oxford, within a few feet of the Avon, and has a flower garden 
which he cares for with almost pathetic devotion, for he loves 
flowers and plants as though they were human beings. Captain 
Tull is well informed upon the political and economic affairs of 
the country, believes that the sun rises and sets in Talbot county, 
and his wanderings have given him the opportunity for com- 
parisons. A republican in politics, he has served in the Mary- 
land Legislature, representing Talbot county. 

THOMPSON. — Few men have had a record through a long 
life that stands without reproach, and yet Walter H. Thomp- 
son is one upon whose escutcheon probity, honorable dealing 
and a temperate career are brightly engraven. He was 
born away back in 1823, and yet today carries his many years 
like a school boy, while his genial nature renders him a favor- 
ite with all. His father came from Dublin while in his teens, 
so grew up with the country of his adoption and prospered, 
married and died, leaving a wife and children, the subject of 
this sketch being one. After completing his education, Walter 



BIOGRAPHICAL 299 

H. Thompson entered upon a business career in Easton as a 
merchant. Since that time he has been intimately connected 
with the business affairs of Easton, and is really an essential 
member of the community, respected by all who know his ster- 
ling worth of character. He is an officer of a number of Easton's 
best enterprises, the Building and Loan, Maryland Improve- 
ment Company, Avon Hotel Company, Spring Hill Cemetery 
Association and others. A benevolent man, a Mason, and Odd 
Fellow, a leader in the Methodist Church, and is recognized as 
one of Easton' s most influential citizens. 

THOMAS. — General Richard Thomas is enjoying the twilight 
of his life honored by all who know him, and his long career as 
one of Easton 's prominent citizens has won for him the confi- 
dence of the community. General Thomas is one of the few re- 
maining links that connect the far bygone with present, for he 
was born in 1815, and has a long vista of years to look back 
over, being nearly four score and ten. He was born in Wye 
Neck, where two of his paternal grandfathers were also born, 
his grandfather having been an officer in the continental army, 
while his father served in the war of 1812. Educated in private 
schools and the Center ville academy, he entered upon a mer- 
cantile life in Easton, and having married in 1837, he was ap- 
pointed a book-keeper in the now Easton National Bank in 
1846, and in 1819 was made cashier, a position he has held ever 
since. During the administration of Governor P. F. Thomas, 
of Maryland, General Thomas was appointed Colonel of the 
Fourth Maryland Regiment, and later Governor Hicks made 
him a Brigadier General. From first to last he has been one 
of Easton's most progressive citizens, and he has well earned 
the high regard in which he is held today. 

THARP. — Among the many bright lawyers of the Talbot 
bar, may be mentioned Mr. Alfred L. Tharp, a gentleman and a 
scholar. Mr. Tharp may be said to have many claims to Ameri- 
canism, for his family dates its coming to America in 1662, set- 
tling in Delaware, in which state those of his name have risen 
to distinction, his uncle, William Tharp, having been thrice 
Governor of Delaware, a position also held by another kinsman 
of the subject of this sketch. Mr. Tharp's claim upon Talbot 
county is a double one, he having been born in Easton in May, 



300 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

1855, in the same home in which he now dwells, and married 
hare ii LS^T, hi 3 v ife , nee Emily Goldsborough, being a'native 
of the county, and a daughter of James N. Goldsborough, of 
"Woodstock." Educated at the Easton public schools, Mr. 
Tharp later went to St. John's College, Annapolis, graduating 
in the class of 1874. He also read law at St. John's, continuing 
its study upon his return home and was admitted to the bar in 
1879. Nominated as State's Attorney by his party, the Ee- 
publican, he was defeated by a few votes. He is examiner in 
chancery, and holds several other offices of trust. A member of 
the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club, Mr. Tharp is genial, hospit- 
able and has many friends. 

TILGHMAN. — Colonel Oswald Tilghman, the son of General 
Tench Tilghman, has also become a prominent citizen of Talbot 
county. He entered the Confederate army in 1861, and made 
a gallant record as a commander of a battery in the memorable 
siege of Port Hudson, and was the only officer in his battery of 
four who survived this siege. His battery in March, 1863, de- 
stroyed the steam frigate Mississippi, of which Admiral Dewey 
was then the executive officer. Col. Tilghman was for a long 
time a prisoner at Johnson's Island, Ohio. Col.l Tilghman was 
also an officer on the staff of his kinsman, General Lloyd Tilgh- 
man, of whom a short sketch is given, he having been] also a 
Talbot county man. Having been exchanged, Colonel Tilghman 
again served the south in the field, and at the close of the war 
returned to his home in Talbot. Some years ago, Colonel Tilgh- 
man married Miss Belle Harrison, daughter of the late Dr. Sam- 
uel Harrison, a wealthy and distinguished citizen of Talbot 
county, a prominent physician and a man of letters, for as a lit- 
terateur, Dr. Harrison was also well known. The residence of 
Colonel Tilghman is the fine old home of "Foxley Hall" in Eas- 
ton, and a place with a history, one reminiscence being that the 
Charles Dickinson who was killed in his celebrated duel with 
Andrew Jackson was born in this mansion. To the Harrison 
estate also belongs the old home of "Wenlock Christison the 
Quaker," and the most famous Friend of his times, save Pox 
and Penn. Colonel Tilghman is a prominent member of the 
Cincinnati and other Eevolutionary organizations , He is well 
known beyond his state lines ; has held prominent positions, and 



BIOGRAPHICAL 301 

his record in the Senate of Maryland was as creditable as was 
his record when a Confederate soldier. Socially inclined, his 
home is a most hospitable one, and his influence has been felt 
and shown in many ways toward building up Talbot, and Eas- 
ton, for it was due to his efforts that the State Bureau of Immi- 
gration was established in 1886, and he has brought to the 
county many influential and worthy people. 

TRIPPE. — For a Talbot couutian not to know Dr. Edward R. 
Trippe, of Easton, would be to write himself down unknown, 
for far and wide his fame has spread, not only as a physician and 
surgeon, but as a gentleman to the manner born. Dr. "Ed," as 
his particular friends call him, is as fond of a fine horse as he 
is of his gun, and of the latter as he is of a yacht, and that is 
saying a great deal. He is an enthusiastic yachtsman, and 
dearly loves a tramp after game, large and small, while there is 
no better shot in this county than he is, with shot gun, rifle or 
revolver. Believing in the motto, "Dum vivimus vivamus," 
Dr. Trippe enjoys life in spite of his very extensive practice and 
loves to have those about him do the same. He is hospit- 
able, liberal and fond of playing the host to his many friends, a 
pleasure in which his wife is ever glad to share, for their home 
is ever open to extend a warm welcome. Born in 1840, in an 
old mansion that has upon it the date 1760, Dr. Trippe traces 
his ancestry to England in the time of King Henry V., as the 
name was then changed from Howard to Trippe. The 
family settled in Maryland in 1663, Captain Henry Trippe 
having been the progenitor. Trippe' s Creek, a branch of the 
Avon, is named after the family. The family of Trippes may 
be said to be noted for the many distinguished men it has pro- 
duced. The boyhood of Dr. Trippe was passed upon the old 
homestead farm, and he was given a good education, graduat- 
ing at Bushington College. In 1862 he graduated in medicine 
from the Maryland University, and begun his practice in Talbot 
county, and his skill and devotion to his calling have brought 
him to the head of his profession. Dr. Trippe is a prominent 
Mason, and an enthusiast on Masonry. He is Rear Commodore 
of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club, a member of many fraterni- 
ties, of a generous, sympathetic nature and one who is glad to 
say that he is still a student in medicine, and cannot learn too 
much of his profession. In 1864 Dr. Trippe married Miss 



302 LAND OF LEGENDARY LORE 

Melusina E. Swartze, of Maryland, and a lady in every way 
fitted to be the mistress of a charming home circle. 

WAGGAMAN. — The Waggaman family figured conspicu- 
ously in the history of the Eastern Shore of Maryland more than 
one hundred and fifty years ago. We read in the records of 
the court that Captain Ephraim Waggaman was commissioned 
as Sheriff of Worcester county in 1752. His brother, Captain 
Henry Waggaman, was elected as delegate from Somerset county 
for four successive terms In fact from 1752 to 1794 members 
of the family represented the counties of Worcester, Dorchester 
and Somerset, Mr. Henry Waggaman having been appointed 
as one of the delegates from the state of Maryland to accept the 
Constitution of the United States. The Waggamans intermarried 
with the families of Woolford and Ennalls, and the old home at 
Monie still stands and is now used as the county almshouse. 
The family subsequently removed to Fairview in the vicinity of 
Cambridge. The sons of Henry Waggaman were George A. 
Waggaman, who settled in Louisiana and after filling various 
high positions in the state of his adoption was elected to the 
United States Senate in 1831; Dr. Henry Waggaman, of Dor- 
chester county, and Thomas Ennalls Waggaman, who married 
Martha Jefferson Tyler, a sister of the President. Of the three 
sons of this marriage Major George G. Waggaman, of the United 
States army, and Purser Floyd Waggaman died without issue. 
John H. Waggaman the elder lived to an advanced age in 
Washington, of which his four sons are now residents. Mr. 
Thomas E. Waggaman is widely known as a capitalist, a patron 
of art and a public spirited and benevolent citizen. Dr. Samuel 
Waggaman after serving with Mosby's Eangers devoted him - 
self to the healing art in its various branches and is one of the 
founders of the National College of Pharmacy. Mr. Henry Pier- 
pont Waggaman is extensively interested in the development 
of the most beautiful suburban districts around the Capital . 
John Floyd Waggaman, besides his wide business interests in 
Washington and other cities, has invested largely in the Eastern 
Shore of Maryland. Though the owner of a beautiful home in 
the Capital, where he and his charming wife dispense princely 
hospitality, he purchased some years ago a portion of the old 
Duvall property on South Eiver, near Annapolis, and erected 



BIOGRAPHICAL 303 

a shooting lodge which is the scene of many festive gatherings. 
He is also the chief property holder of Ocean City, Maryland, 
which owes its great development of late years almost princi- 
pally to his energy and liberality. The wizard wand of wealth 
and enterprise has transformed the once sleepy stretch of "Sine- 
puxent Beach" into a fashionable resort, alive with modern ac- 
tivities. Crowded hotels, cafes and beautiful Queen Anne cot- 
tages line the wave- washed shores, while its increasing tide of 
summer visitors attests the far-seeing judgment which first recog- 
nized its restful and health-giving charm that makes Ocean City 
an idyllic spot for a midsummer holiday. 

WRIGHTSON. — Hon. Frank G. Wrightson was a prominent 
citizen of Bay Hundred until his election to the important office 
of Clerk of Court of Talbot county brought him to Easton to 
live. He represented Talbot county for one term in the House 
of Delegates, and has been an acknowledged leader in the Demo- 
cratic party of the state, and has held important positions of 
trust and influence. The family of Mr. Wrightson is a very 
old one, going back in Maryland two hundred and fifty years, 
and his paternal ancestors have been men of distinction. His 
father, William L. Wrightson, was born on Clay Neck farm in 
1813, died only a short time ago, revered by all who knew him. He 
was noted as a man of remarkable memory, and was called the 
"Historian of Talbot" from the fact that he knew the county's 
history so well. Frank G. Wrightson was born in 1850, was 
brought up on his father's farm, educated at home and at Cal- 
vert College, and then became a devoted agriculturist, con- 
necting himself with the lumber business in Virginia. In 1877 
Mr. Wrightson married Miss Annie R. Dawson, and they have 
a handsome home and a charming family circle in Easton. A 
man of courteous address, Mr. Wrightson enjoys great popu- 
larity, is a member of the Chesapeake Bay Yacht Club ; tells a 
story, and a good one, too, with the wit and mannerism of a veri- 
table of Mark Twain ; is on the Democratic side of the politi- 
cal fence, and believes in the motto "While we journey through 
life let us live by the way." Mr. Wrightson has as his assistants 
in his office Mr. Henry Hollyday, Jr., deputy clerk, and Mr. 
William Wilson, both gentlemen in every way fitted for the im- 
portant positions they hold and who know the old records as 
well as the new. 



804 LAND OP LEGENDARY LORE 

WILLIS. — Hon James H. Willis is a native of Talbot county, 
as were his father and grandfather before him, the former, 
Philemon Willis, having been Sheriff of the county in the first 
years of the present century. The father of Mr. James Willis 
married in 1839 Miss Mary Stewart, whose father, James Stew- 
art, owned at that time nearly half the town of Oxford, and Mr. 
Willis says he can remember when it was cultivated in wheat 
and corn. Though O.; ford was a most important and thriving 
seaport with large foreign trade over two hundred years ago, 
Mr. Willis recollects when it was almost a deserted village, half 
a ceutury ago, with only eleven houses in it. Born in Oxford 
Neck in 1840, Mr. Willis was educated in the county schools 
and the Oxford Military Academy, became a teacher, then a 
farmer and soon after married Miss Virginia Harris, descendant 
of a Delaware family of Revolutionary fame. Mr. Willis has 
been twice married, his present wife having been a Miss Parsons, 
of Salisbury. For many years Mr. Willis has held great politi- 
cal influence in his state, and he has done much for the advance- 
ment and building up of Oxford and the surrounding country. 
His Southern sentiments got him into trouble and the jail dur- 
ing the civil war, a remembrance he recalls by no means un- 
pleasantly, as he very narrowly missed wearing the Confederate 
gray as a soldier of Dixie. A genial gentleman, hospitable and 
progressive, Mr. Willis is today one of Talbot's staunch citi- 
zens, one ever ready to lend a hand for the good of the county 
and its people. 

HAEDCASTLE. — Aaron Bascora Hardcastle was born in 
Denton, Caroline county, Maryland, in 1836. After the death of 
his father in 1843, he lived with an unch. in St. Louis, where 
he was a pupil at the University of St. Louis. He was then sent 
to school at Alexandria, Va., to Benjamin Hallowell, by his 
brother, General E. L. F. Hardcastle, then living in Washing- 
ton, who obtained for him an appointment from President 
Pierce as Lieutenant of Company B, Sixth United States Infan- 
try. This company was then stationed at Fort Laramie in Wy- 
oming, and there Lieutenant Hardcastle reported for duty, and 
received his first military training. His regiment was ordered 
to Salt Lake to take part in the exposition, thence proceeding to 
California, where it was stationed at Humbolt Bay. Promoted to 



BIOGRAPHICAL 305 

First, Lieutenancy, he was ordered to Fort Yuma, thence to San 
Diego, where he was in command of the fort, until the return 
of Major Lewis Armistead, then captain of the company. When 
the civil war broke out, he with Major Armistead resigned his 
commission in the United States Army, and joining General Al- 
bert Sidney Johnston, who had also resigned, he came overland 
on horseback to Texas via El Paso and San Antonio. Beport- 
ing at Eichmond, was commissioned as First Lieutenant in the 
Confederate States army and was ordered to report to General 
A. S. Johnston at Columbus, Ky. He was assigned to duty as 
mustering officer, reporting to Governor Harris of Tennessee. After 
mustering in a brigade of Tennessee troops, he proceeded to Mis- 
sissippi on the same duty. Was then commissioned as Major of 
the Third Mississippi Battalion. He organized intoa battalion of 
seven companies at Jackson, Mississippi. The legislature of 
Mississippi passed a special appropriation for their equipment. 
They reported for duty at Bowling Green, Kentucky, where 
General Johnston had command of the army. He engaged in 
the battle of Shiloh, after which he was placed in command 
of a regiment, his battalion being increased by addition of three 
companies from the Seventh Alabama. He commanded Marrna- 
duke's brigade for a short time in front of Corinth, Mississippi. 
On the route to Kentucky he was disabled by having his right 
leg badly fractured by a kick from a horse while in camp. 
When on crutches he served as commandant of different posts, 
in Tennessee, Georgia and Mississippi. He returned to his regi- 
ment at Missionary Eidge and was in that battle and 3n the re- 
treats to Atlanta under General Joe Johnston. He was then 
taken sick and when convalescent was ordered to command at 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He had for a command as garrison a 
corps of cadets at the Military University of Alabama and three 
companies of state troops and convalescents. They were attack- 
ed after midnight by a brigade under command of Gen. Croxton 
en route to Selma. He was captured whileleading his line of bat- 
tle to defend the bridge which was guarded by state companies 
who had all been surrounded without their knowledge in the 
darkness of the night. He was paroled through the persistence 
of his wife's colored maid Margaret, who saw General Croxton 
in his behalf the next day. Selma was then occupied by the 
Federals, and finally came the announcement of the surrender 



306 LA2STD OF LE&BNDARY LORE 

at Appomattox. He married Miss Hatch of Mississippi and liv- 
ed in Aberdeen until 1876, then came back to Maryland, bring- 
ing his family. They lived at Sherwood's Mill, Talbot county, 
about ten years. He moved to Trappe in 1886, having lived 
near Easton since 1892. He entered the Easton ^National Bank 
in 1889, where he is now employed as personal book-keeper. 

HUGHES. — Jesse Hughes was born in Vienna, Dorchester 
county, Maryland. His father was Captain Levi Hughes, who 
followed the water and o\*ned packets for freighting grain, &c. 
His mother was Theresa Elliott, of Kent Island. Jesse Hughes 
was left an orphan at seven years oi age, without means of sup- 
port, bis father having met with reverses. At this age he was 
apprenticed to William Wilcox, of Baltimore, to learn shoemak- 
ing. Soon after arriving at his majority he entered into part- 
nership with Columbus Elliott and carried on quite a large 
business in Easton. Differing in politics, the firm disolved 
shortly after the war began. Jesse Hughes continued business 
on his own account, working ten or a dozen journeymen as well 
as carrying a large stock of ready made boots and shoes. He 
was appointed Justice of the Peace by Governor Henry Lloyd 
and held the office at the time of his death, December 29th, 
1892, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. With the exception 
of two or three years in the eighties, spent in Salisbury, his en- 
tire business life was spent in Easton. He left a widow, who 
was Miss Georgeanna Councell, three sons and one daughter, 
Miss Georgie Belle Hughes. Charles H. Hughes, son of Jesse 
Hughes, was educated at the schools inEaston. Spent eighteen 
months in Dawson & Brother's drug store. Appointed runner 
in the Easton National Bank of Maryland, February 23d, 1870, 
now holding position of teller in the same bank. Married Oct. 
8th, 1885, Mary Etta Boyd Burnett, daughter of Samuel and 
Sarah Beese Burnett, of Baltimore. Albert A. Hughes, son of 
Jesse Hughes, was educated at the schools in Easton. Learned 
the carpentering business with M. P. Flowers, afterwards formed 
a partnership with W. H. Withgott and opened shops for re- 
pairing of machinery, &c. He is now in the employ of the Gas 
and Electric Light Company. Walter C. Hughes, son of Jesse 
Hughes, was educated at the schools in Easton, entered the 



BIOGRAPAICAL 307 

drug store of E. J. Trippe, afterwards sueceding him in busi- 
ness, and is thus engaged at the present time. 

HENRY. — John Campbell Henry was born December 20th, 
1844, at Vienna, Dorchester county, and came toEaston in 1862 
and engaged with Levin H. Campbell as a drug clerk. His 
father, Dr. J. W. Henry, practiced medicine in Vienna. In 
1869 Mr. Henry went into partnership with Mr. Campbell, un- 
der the firm name of Campbell & Henry, and at Mr. Campbell's 
death Mr. Henry took the late Dr. Henry T. Goldsborough into 
partnership with him. At Dr. Goldsborough 's death Mr. 
Henry associated with him his brother, Charles 8. Henry, and 
the partnership continued up to 1893, and in 1896 he sold his 
drug business to Dr. T. A. Councell. When Alexis A. Pascault's 
term as Town Commissioner expired in 1887, Mr. Henry was 
elected to succeed him, and has since been reelected three times. 
By reason of his long service he was elected president of the 
board some years ago, to succeed Col. Edward Boberts, who 
resigned to accept the position of Building Inspector. Mr. Henry 
is descended from a long line of illustrious ancestors. His great- 
grandfather was John Henry, who was Colonial Governor of 
Maryland in 1 797 and was afterwards United States Senator. 
The honorable Daniel M. Henry, of Cambridge, who represent- 
ed the First District in Congress, is his uncle, and the late I. 
IsTevitt Steele, of Baltimore, was his great-uncle. The Hon. 
Winder Laird Henry, of Cambridge, ex-Congressman, is his 
cousin. Mr. Henry married in 1879 the daughter of the late 
Colonel Thomas Hughlett. They have one child, a son Hugh- 
lett. 



308 



LAND OF LNGENDARY LORE 




VIEWS AT ATLANTIC HOTEL, OCEAN CITY. 



INDEX. 



Adams 261 

Adkins 51,263 

Airey 135 

Algonquins 18 

Anderson 51 

Aristocracy 50 

Atkinson 182 

Auld 124 

Baldwin 264 

Banks 260 

Banning 102, 114 

Barber 264 

Barclay 135 

Barnett 207 

Bartlett 52, 136, 207, 265 

Barton 52 

Bateman 52, 162 ; 

Bayard 52 

Bayne 206 

Bennett 116,130 

Benson 109, 111, 265 

Biddle 52 

Boats 203 

Bowie .52 

Bozman 101, 135 

Brady 183 

Brent 52 

Bristol 34 

Browning 52 

Buchanan 52, 130, 170 

Burying-grounds 53 

Butler 124 

Cabell 52 

Caldwell 116 

Calhoun, 52 

Calvert 24,52, 136 

Carlton ■ 52 

Carney. ill 

Carrington 266 

Carroll ^ 52 

Caulk 52, 207,266 

Cecil 52 

Chamberlaine 52, 106, 132,267 

Chaplain 269 

Chesapeake 33 

Chew, 52 

Chipley 26S 

Christison 65,107 

Churches 77, 196 

Claibourne 52, 51 

Clay 52 



Clayland i 59 

Co burn 269 

Collinson 133 

Comegys 52 

Contee r 52 

Counties 43 

Coursey 52 

Covington 149 

Coward 142 

Cox 106 

Customs 50 

Dandndge 52 

Dawson 150 

De Courcey "52 

Denny 52 

D'Hlnojosa 106 

■Dickinson , 52, 102, 212 

Dixon 52, 108, 136, 270 

Dodson 272 

Douglass 154,270 

Downs 52 

Durand , 130 

Duvall 52 

Eager 52 

Earle „ 52, 132, 273 

Early Industries 245 

Early Settlements 23 

Eastern Shore 33, 36 

Easton 34 

Emerson „ 207 

Fleming 184 

Fox 66 

Foxley 131 

France , 182 

Francis 131 

Friends 25, 66 

■'Gazette" 47 

Geddes , 104, 116 

Gibson ill, 114, 161, 275 

Goldsborough 52, 102, 104, 111, 133, 135, 171, 

206, 274 

Gordon. , 52 

Graham 287 

Granger ,, 52 

Greenbury 133 

Grey , 52 

Griffith 274 

Haddaway „ 275 

Hambleton m, 275 

Hammond 52, 158, 174 

Handy 52 



INDEX 



Hanson 52 

Hardcastle 276,278, 304 

Harrison 172 

Haskins 135 

Haslett 116 

Hayward 52,113,135 

Hemseley 31 

Henry 52, 367 

"Hier- Dyer Lloyd" 210 

Higgins 281 

Hindman U>1. 102 

Holden : 276 

Hollyday 52, 131,279 

Hood 163 

Hooper 279 

Hopkins 207 

Hotels 194 

Howard 52 

Howes 133 

Hughes ., 52, 306 

Hughlett 52, 175,214 

Hunn..... 116 

Hynson. 52 

Jacquett 116 

Jenifer 52 

Jenkins 5?, 171, 173, 282 

Johnson 282 

Kent 51 

Kemp 52, 124, 207, 288 

Kerr 58, 109, 135 

Kid 44 

Kirkwood 116 

LaFayette 225 

"Lalaree" 19 

Latimer 116 

Latrobe 52 

Lay 1T4 

Lee 52 

Leonard 52 

jjoyd 52, 55, 100, 104, 130, 283 

London 34 

Lord Baltimore 24,37 

Lovers' Spring 32 

Lowe 52,136,2S4 

Lowndes 52, 130, 284 

Magruder 52 

Marshall 52 

Martin 52, 111, 113, 122, 173, 207 

Mason 52 

May 52, 1S3 

Maynard 285 

McDonough.. 116 

McHenry 52 

McKnett 215 

Merrick 2S6 

Morris 30, 52, 104 

Mullikin 52,286 

Myers ■ 142 

Nanticokes 9 



Neale 130 

"Necks" 206 

Nelson 47 

Newspapers 197 

Nichols 52, 107,287 

Nickerson 184, 288 

Nicols 149,178 

Norris 288, 289 

Ogle 52 

Orndorff 214 

Outram. 214 , 

Oxford 9, 13, 26,30 I "b ^ 

Paca 52 

Palmer 52 

Pascault 52, 2S9 

-Patton 116 

Peale 52 

Penn 25, 52,71 

"Perdito" 142 

Perry 104 

Pickett 52 

Pinkney 52 

Poisal 162, 290 

Polk 52 

Powell 52, 289 

Preston 52 

Produce 34,39 

Pue 52 

Queen Anne 51 

Raisin 52 

Randall 183 

Ray 152 

Reddie 292 

Redemptioners 46 

Religion 24 

Reisler 291 

Rich 290 

Riker 215 

Ringgold 52 

Ritter 207 

Rivers 43 

Roberts 292 -" 

Robins 106, 181, 133 

Robinson 115 

Rodney 116 

Roe '. 52 

Ross 207 

Royal Oak 28, 34 

Rutledge 52 

Sales 54 

Sayer 125 

Scheppers 214 

Schley 52 

Schools 199,239, 260 

Secret Societies 200 

Sewall - 294 . 

Shannahan 52, 293 

Sharp '• 52 

Sherwood 191 



INDEX 



"Six Nations" 99 

Skipwith 52 

Slater 52 

Slavery 44 

Smith 52 

Spencer 293 

Sprague 52 

Spring 206 

St. Mary's 24 

St. Michaels 34 

Stevens 104.212,293 

Stewart 52,294 

Stone 52 

Strong 130 

Taylor 52 

Teackie , 52 

Tharp 52, 299 

Thomas Ill, 113, 1T0, 299 

Thompson ?97, 29S 

Tilden 52 

Tilghman 31, 52, 99, 122, 131, 173, 20T, 300 

Tilghman's Island 34 

Tobacco 45 

Trappe 34 

Tred Avon 2T 

Trippe 52, 135, 301 



Tull 29S 

Tunis Mills 34 

Turner 297 

Waggaman 302 

Tweed 184 

Vaughan 52 

Veasey 52 

Vickers 52 

"Villa" 180 

Ward 122 

Warfleld 52 

Weird Tales 84' 

Wetherill 52 

White Marsh Church 31 

Whittingham 52 

Wickes 115 

Williams 125 

Willis 207,304 

Willson 297 

Wilmer 52 

Wilson 36 

Winder 177 

Wirt 52 

W T rlghtson 303 

Wroth 52 



A CITY BY THE SEA. 




fj LTHOUGH in the main a story of 
Talbot on the Eastern Shore, I 
may be pardoned tor having been 
tempted to dwell upon other lo- 
calities of this beautiful land, 
and thus need offer no excuse for 
venturing upon our attractive 
Atlantic shore within easy ride 
by rail of Easton, and becoming 
so well known now as a resort in 
Maryland that can boast of the 
finest ocean beach from Maine to Florida. I refer to Ocean City, 
Maryland, than which no beach is more delightfully or conveni- 
ently situated especially for the citizens of Eichmond, Wash- 
ington, Baltimore, Wilmington and Philadelphia, not to speak of 
the towns and villages of the Eastern Shore, of which it can al- 
most be claimed to be a suburb. 

A visit to Ocean City adds a year to one's life for every month 
passed there. Its breezes are balmy, yet invigorating, its climate 
perfect and its situation all that could be desired, for with the 
Atlantic before it, it has Sinepuxent Bay behind it, and lies on 
a narrow strip of land, averaging a thousand feet in width and 
several miles in length. It is located just as Seabright and 
Monmouth Beach, N". J., are, only it has finer natural advant- 
ages for man to build upon. Sinepuxent Bay is fifty miles in 
length, from half a mile to several miles in width, and is not 
very deep, while the Government having cut an inlet through 
near the Delaware State line, it has a steady flow tide from the 
ocean. For still water salt bathing, boating and yachting it is 
unsurpassed. The fishing is excellent, crabs, perch, blue, rock 
and many other varieties of fish abound in the waters, with the 
ocean in front for deep water fishing. 

Those who visit Ocean City wonder how it is that the beach is 
not swept over by the Atlantic in its fury, but the solution is 



plain when understood. Off the beach a mile or more is a 
long and shallow bar, averaging from six to a dozen feet in depth, 
and beyond this still further is another bar, and these serve as 
a breakwater to the huge and violent inrolling soas of the Atlan- 
tic. By them their force and fury is broken, so that when the 
surf reaches the beach, even in a storm, it has lost seven-tenths 
of its power, and thus Ocean City is safe, where Cape May, 
Atlantic City, Asbury Park, Ocean Grove, Long Branch, Sea- 
bright, Rockaway, Coney Islaud and other ocean beaches get 
the full force in a high tide and tempest, and ruin and immense 
pecuniary damage results to them. Off Ocean City the Gulf 
Stream hows nearer to the coist than elsewhere above Cape 
Hatteras, and this tempers the water, making the bathing all 
that could be desired. The water in use at Ocean City is from 
deep artesian wells and hence the very best. 

As to the beach proper of Ocean City, it is an ideal one. 
There is something in the quality of the sand that has gained 
for it the name of "Velvet Beach," and from no less a person- 
age than the late Bayard Taylor, who had seen the be iches of 
the world, and gave the palm to this one. The slope is gradual 
giving ample space for timid bathers, and it is a most safe and 
delightful bathing beach. 

Of the improvements at Ocean City a great deal can be said. 
There are many private cottages spread out along the beach for 
about a mile and a-half, interspersed with large, well equipped 
hotels. The side streets- -those running from the sea to the bay 
— are also well built up with cottages and family hotels. The 
boardwalk is lighted at night with electricity and lined with 
rustic seats and benches, and the hotels and cottages, with their 
music and gaiety, make it an ideal promenade, r 

Of the larger hotels the Atlantic takes the palm, and justly 
too. It is equipped with all that a modern hotel should be, and 
its service and cuisine are of that character which has done 
much to make old Maryland famous. It has, in conjunction 
with its large, three storied piazza, a dancing pavilion and an 
auditorium hall, where most of the State and district political 
conventions and other meetings are held. 

Mr. John F. Waggaman, one of Washington City's popular, 
well-known and progressive men — and it takes a progressive 
man to make a mark in the United States Capital — is the back- 
bone of Ocean City, and realizing all that it can be made, is de- 



terrnined to bring it to the front, sparing neither money, time 
nor trouble. The plans are drawn for Ocean City's future, and 
Mr. Wagganian has interested with him men who appreciate 
that this Maryland beach is destined to be the seaside Mecca of 
hundreds of thousands. An iron pier is projected and also a 
trolley line to run the entire length of the beach . 

To reach Ocean City from Baltimore, Washington and the 
South and the Southwest, one must go via the Baltimore, Chesa- 
peake and Atlantic Ba^lway. This road is under a good man- 
agement, ready and willing to do all that can be done for the 
interests and quick transportation of its patrons. It has a 
steamboat leaving Baltimore twice a day during the summer to 
connect with trains at Claiborne, in far-famed and beautiful 
Talbot County, and thence passes through the pretty villages of 
St. Michaels and Royal Oak, the flourishing city of Easton, the 
very centre of Maryland's old-time wealth, old familias and re- 
finement, with its wonderful historic associations, and on across 
the Choptank into other counties of the Peninsula, and finally 
across the Sinepuxent Bay, dotted with numerous sailing yachts, 
canoes, etc., into Ocean City. 

Many eminent men have expressed themselves as more than 
delighted with the place, among them Eear Admiral Jouett, 
who said: "Ocean City has the finest beach on the Atlantic sea- 
board and the best air in the world." 

Dr. C. W. Chancellor, of Baltimore, said : "Too much cannot 
be said in praise of the beach. The State Board of Health re- 
ports that the Eastern Shore of Maryland is the healthiest por- 
tion of the Atlantic coast from Maine to Florida." 

Alexander Grant, United States General Postoffice, thinks 
that, without any of the objectionable features which detract 
from many of the larger resorts, it affords all the facilities and 
attractions sought for. 

Hon. J. C. Clements, Inter-State Commerce Commission: "We 
have found the place beautiful and particularly beneficial to 
children. The bathing is delightful." 

Hon. J. H. Bromwell, of Ohio, speaks this high praise: "Has 
a fine surf, and a beautiful bay for fishing and boating." 

Hon. J. C. S. Blackburn, former United States Senator from 
Kentucky: "I am in love with the place." 

Beriah Wilkins, Washington Post: "Have visited every beach 
on the Atlantic coast, but none can compare with it." 



A Landmark, 

Fixed permanently, immovably in the field of 
Baltimore's Dry Goods Retailing — old in years 
— young in up-to-dateness — the leading House is 

Joel Gutman & Co., 

BALTIMORE. 112 to 122 N. Eutaw St 




5 north Charles Street, Baltimore, Md. 
PREPARE FOR ACTUAL BUSINESS 

IN AN UP-TO-DATE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, 
SHORTHAND AND TYPEWRITING. 

We earnestly solicit a thorough investigation ot our superior facilliles and 
unexcelled-methods of instruction. 

E. EL NORMAN, President. 

POLLOCK'S 

STANDARD BONE 

FERTILIZERS. 

Old and Reliable. 
The Best for all Crops. 

IVEajn.-u.fsictTJ.red. 1037- 

k. h:. pollocz:, 

Offices: SI S. Gay St. B^XjTIlszEOIEilE], 2±s£2D. 



Hennegen, Bates & Co. 

Baltimore. 

Diamond Merchants, Jewelers, 

# Silversmiths. # 

Manufacturers of Baltimore Rand- Chased 
Repousse Silver, Catalogue on application. 




Patapsco Flour. 

— 1774-1899. — 

Used by our successful housekeepers 
for 125 years The standard ol ex- 
cellence. Absolutely pure. 

Patapsco Superlative, 

The very Pest flour made. 

Orange Grove, 

An excellent flour. 

C. A Gamtoill Mfg. Co., Prop., 

Haiti more, Md. 



The Peon Mutual Life Insurance Company, 

fifty-one: yeiars old. 

Investigate its New Policies. 

Send age and address and 
full particulars will be given 

FRANK 9IARKOE, General Agent, 

7 North Calvert Street, BALTIMORE, MD. 

~H. S. TAVEAU & CO. 

ANIMAL GUANOS FOR ALL CROPS 

33 S. Gay St., Baltimore. 

Growing and Curing Tobacco 

One of our Specialties, ^"We can fur- 
nish any quantity of testimonials, al- 
though we do not take much stock in this 
sort of matter. We think the goods 
should testify for themselves. We con- 
sider this the very best recommendation 
to offer. 




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HOME COMFORTS T 



SEXTON'S GRAND 
HEATER. 



SEXTON'S 

FIRE-PLACE 

HE A TERS, 

STOVES 

RANGES, 

FURNACES, 

:!ii Have :-tood the test. Send for test! 
monial oook and be convinced. 



SEXTON'S IMPROVED 
LOW DOWN r-r 
RADIATING FURNACE 





The Original and Most 
Perfect Fire-Piace Heater 
ever made: so acknowl- 
edged by the trade and 
public. 



Public Institutions, Hotels, 
Restaurants and Steamboats. 



Large Radial ing Sur- 
face; Perfect combus- 
tion : KconomiCiil in the 
use of fuel; Portable 
and brick-set. 



S. B. SEXTON & SON, 

ESTABLISHED 1839. 

Manufacturers of the Best Fire Mace Heaters, Furnaces, and Ranges, 
Foundry, 511 to 527 f . Conway St. STORES: 23 E, LomUanl St , 7 and 9 i. G-ay St., BALI IMORE^ 



BliGB'SIiTsiLlilllZlS 

Prepared expressly for different crops. 

Genuine Peruvian Guano. 
Baugh's Warranted Pure Raw Bone Meal, 

Guaranteed Free from all Adulterations under forfeiture of bill. 

Baugh's Pure Dissolved Animal Bone, 

Warranted Pure— made from Animal Bones and Sulphuric Acid only. 

Pure Bone and Potash Mixture, 

For Lawns, Flowers, Shrubbery, Small Fruits and Fruit Trees. 

Select Ground Bone and Meat Meal, 

Prepared Expressly for Poultry Food. 
High-Grade Dissolved Rock, Pure Ground Land Plaster, Muriate 

and Sulphate of Potash, Kaiuit, Fine Ground Fish, 
Ground Tankage, Nitrate of Soda, Sulphate of Ammonia. Etc. 



BAUGH & SONS COMPANY, 



412 EXCHANGE PLACE, 



BALTIMORE, M D. 



THE CRAVING FOR 

LIQUOR OR NARCOTIC DREGS 

IS ABSOLUTELY AND PERMANENTLY REMOVED BY 

"The Keeley Cure" 

ADMINISTERED ONLY AT ESTABLISHMENTS BEARING 
THE UNIFORM NAME 



"The Keeley Institute, 



i ^ 



THERE IS BUT ONE SUCH FOR MARYLAND AND THE 
DISTRICT OFCOLUMBIA. WRITE FOR INFORMATION, 
Ttie Keeley Institute, 

211 N, Capitol Street, Washington, D. C. 



Wm. Gartho, 

Slate and Tile Rooeer, 
32 w. montgomery st. 



BALTIMORE, MD. 



IT PLEASES OUR PATIENTS 

when they find how easily, painlessly, and skillfully their teeth are extracted 
treated and filled at our office. They usually approach the chair in a nervous, timorous 
manner but after the operation they laugh at tlieir fears, and wonder why they ever had 
anv All our operations are painless, and we give you a written guarantee on all work. 
Teeth extracted 25c Teeth rilled with Amalgam, 50c. Teeth filled with silver, 75c. 
Teeth filled with gold «l an <l m». Vitalized Air administered, 50c. Good set of teeth 
for »5 Best set of teeth, »8. Crown and Bridge Work, *5 per tooth. 

PHILADELPHIA DENTAL PARLORS, 

Largest in the world— Expert Operators— No Students Employed— Lady in Attendance. 
COR. BALTIMORE AND OHARL.E1S STS. 



Galvanized Iron and Copper Cornice 
and Ornamental Work, 



Av 




Finials Weather Vanes, Etc. 

Patent Metallic Skylights without putty, 
Guaranteed not to Leak. Send for illus- 
trated catalogue. 

VAILK & YOUNG, 

HalFTull size. 216 N - Calvert Street, Baltimore, Md. 

AHkinds Trees, Shrubs, Vines, Evergreens, Etc. 

Grown and for sale by 

Franklin Davis Nursery Co. 

Special attention to LANDSCAPE WORK in all its Branches. 

Spring Season: Send for Catalogue Fall Season: 

March, April, May. October, November, December. 

Baltimore and Paca Sts. Baltimore, Md. 



QUERY? 






What Life Insurance Company is it that Has Paid to its Poli cy Holders 
an Increasing Annual Dividend lor the last Twenty-Five Consecu- 
ti ve Years. 18T3-189S inclusive ? 

There is but One Company with this Record. 

It you are not insured in such a Company (and there is but one) you can 
learn all about it by addressing any of the ^Etna Life Insurance Com- 
pany's Agents, or 

MEIGS & HEISSK, Managers, 

205 6 7-8 Herald Building, - - Baltimore, Md. 

A few good Agents Wanted, 

HOTEL HELENE, 

53d Street and Lake Ave., Chicago, 111. 

All visitors to Chicago, whether on pleasure or business, should bear in mind the 
Hotel Helen. Excellentcuisine, Artesian Well Water. 

Lawson's Photogrraphic^Studio, 

131 53rd Street, Chicago/ 111. "Mr. Lawson^produceg a wonderfully.'pleasing, 
artistic, clear, round, bright, well-modulated, picture, a gem in photography," 
says The Journal of Fine Arts. Lowest prices. 



of Baltimore, Md. 9 St. Paul Street, 




Offers Definite Contracts. 
Limited Payments. 
Guaranteed Settlements. 
Guaranteed Dividends. 
Purely Mutual. ... Stock Self-Sustaining. 

Assured Fixed Income. No Fines. 

No Admission Fee. No Withdrawal Fees. 
No Extra Assessments. 

All Officers and Employes 

Handling Funds Bonded in 
Guarantee Companies. 

Absolutely Safe and Equitable. 
All Contracts Guaranteed. Its Strength is 
Absolutely Incontestable. 




A PERFECT INVESTMENT 

In the Full Paid certificates of the Guarantee Building and 
Load Association of Baltimore City, Md., investors find one of 
the highest class investments that has ever been placed before 
the public. An investment that combines the cardinal princi- 
ples of safety, convenience and profit ; an investment that has 
stood the test of time, and stands to-day exactly where it stood 
in the begining. An investment that proved to be an invest- 
ment when ninety per cent of other so called investments were 
transformed into whirlpools of loss and destruction. 



